


If there's a burning in your heart, don't be alarmed

by eeveepkmnfan



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Drabble Collection, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Melancholy, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-08-29 18:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 49
Words: 31,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8499955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eeveepkmnfan/pseuds/eeveepkmnfan
Summary: When Yuuri first awoke, it was to the sight of snow.
Taking it all in, his first thought was, ‘It’s beautiful.’





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the song You Are A Tourist by Death Cab for Cutie.

When Yuuri first awoke, it was to the sight of snow. Flurries that blew against his face and through the trees. Light reflecting off of the inches of fluff on the ground. And of course, the lake at the center, setting the scene. It was like something from a fairy tale.

Taking it all in, his first thought was, _‘It’s beautiful.’_

His second was, _‘Huh?’_

Because he couldn’t remember. Why was he here, and not with his family? Hadn’t they been playing in the snow earlier?

He remembered… building a snowman with his sister. Making snow angels. Having a snowball fight while their parents watched from the sidelines. 

A sudden flash went through his mind. A sudden blizzard. Getting separated, being lost, stumbling over branches and rocks, snow and snow and snow…

Grey eyes blinked. He put a hand to his head, only to jump in shock. 

His skin was cold. And he got another surprise as he caught a flash of his hand. 

It was white as the snow falling around him. 

He looked down at himself. A pure white kimono adorned his body, the material light. Too light for the time of year it was. 

But he realized he wasn’t even affected by the winter air or snow. 

Woodenly, he walked up to the lake. Steeling himself, he looked down.

His breaths shortened, his arms coming around himself as a terrible thought entered his mind. 

_‘I look like a yuki-onna.’_ But that couldn’t possibly be. There was no way. Because if that was the case…

Panicking, he jumped into the lake.

Except he didn’t. He crashed on top of it, as if the water had already frosted with ice. 

Crumbling in on himself, he hiccupped with the force of his sobs. His crystalized tears clinked against the ice he had formed. 

Yuuri Katsuki had died from hypothermia. 

And now, the same snow that had killed him brought him back. 

Hollowly, after what felt like a long time, he got up.

The crystalized tears that looked like tiny sapphires soon melted.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a while, Yuuri mused while staring at the place where it all began. 

Once again, he stood in the middle of a fairy tale. Only, this time he would play a part in it.

Walking to the middle of the lake, he sighed out a breath and closed his eyes. 

Grey eyes opened. It was finally time to get closure. 

His kimono sleeves flowed like water as he slowly started to dance, feet leaving trails of ice where they stepped.

_‘Father, Mother, Mari… This is for you.’_ A small smile worked its way onto his face as he skated around the lake, spinning and turning in time to music he imagined. The snowflakes that landed in his hair looked like glitter, giving him the appearance of a fairy.

He jumped, the wind at his back. His breath rushed out as he landed. 

He spun quickly, flinging his hands out, a laugh almost escaping him. 

_‘I’ve missed this!’_ He grinned, going faster now. 

A hand to his heart, he then lifted it and turned his back to his imaginary audience. 

The music swelled, his heart beating in time with it, and he twirled while bringing his leg up.

The wind whistled as he slowly came back down from the spin.

When dawn came, he was exhausted, but happy.

Even if this had been on a whim, he was glad he had done it. He was tired of feeling depressed and having only bad memories of this place. Sure, it had been the place of his death and rebirth, but that didn’t mean that was all it could be.

Today he had danced for his family, and that was a happy memory he would treasure always.

Right now, at least, he was happy. And Yuuri would enjoy that for as long as it lasted. 

Smiling, he sat down in the snow and watched the sun rise, the sky beautiful as it was painted with pinks and purples.

_‘Whenever I get sad, I’ll think of my family and skate for them.’_

After all, this snow filled place that was like a fairy tale was done. He had flipped to the last page and closed its cover.

It was time to write a new story, this time one with a happy ending.

That happy ending… _‘I’ll make sure of it.’_ Yuuri laughed softly, flopping to lay down and stare at the snowflakes as they floated down.

For a little while, he would stay.


	3. Chapter 3

Viktor had the feeling that something was soon going to change. It was only a feeling, but nonetheless…

He was excited. 

Things had been boring lately, anyway, he thought while staring at all the people passing by.

_‘Everyone always looks so busy nowadays.’_ Viktor sighed. Did no one have time to have fun anymore?

Well, it wasn’t as if he had any room to talk. 

He just went where he pleased and followed his whims. Things had been boring for a while.

But lately… the winds had been whispering to him, urging him to follow them.

And so he had been. But he still wasn’t there yet, which was odd. 

_‘How far away are you hiding?’_ Viktor mused, holding his hand out in front of him as if gauging distance. 

This was the only interesting thing to come by in what felt like years. In what probably was years.

Hopefully whatever this was would keep him entertained. 

He sat up, the wind already tugging at him. He laughed, softly smiling. 

“Alright, alright. I’m going.” And with words that no human could hear, he departed. 

A soft breeze flowed through the crowd passing by, ruffling their hair playfully. 

It seemed that a meeting would occur soon in the future. One that the world would have no knowledge of, but one that would nonetheless have a deep impact. 

And so the wind blew.


	4. Chapter 4

The day Viktor met Yuuri, it seemed as if time stopped for a moment.

A moment where their eyes locked, the both of them trapped in that instant. 

Grey eyes widened, pale white skin turning rosy red. White sleeves quickly covered Yuuri’s face, embarrassment rolling off in waves. He was stuttering, words failing him.

Viktor was utterly charmed. 

He smiled brightly, blue eyes luminous. “Ah, I’m sorry! Your dancing enchanted me, you see, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of you! You were magnificent!” 

And he truly had been, this creature of ice and snow, skating as if it were the only thing he had. The passion had been breathtaking to see. And yet…

Viktor paused, smile dropping. “You seemed lonely.” And wouldn’t he know all about that? 

Yuuri lowered his sleeves. A small, wistful smile appeared. 

“Yes, I suppose that is true…” he mused. But then he looked straight at Viktor, grey eyes sparkling with an intensity that the man hadn’t expected from someone so bashful. 

“But it feels like they’re with me at the same time.” Viktor breathed out, taking in his expression. 

It looked as if he was lost somewhere. 

This snow spirit, filled with fire, confident yet shy, captivated him. Now he knew why the wind had led him here, to this moment. 

Viktor cheerily laughed, throwing his arm around Yuuri’s neck, dragging him along.  
“Teach me to skate! You make it look fun.” Amidst Yuuri’s protests and spluttering, his cheeks coloured pale pink. 

“I don’t even know your name!” Yuuri was spun and then dipped, being let go a second later. Slightly dizzy, he looked at the other.

Viktor bowed, taking his hand, looking up to his face for permission. Yuuri flushed, but somehow managed to jerkily nod. 

A feather light kiss was laid upon his hand, blue eyes sparkling.

“Viktor Nikiforov, pleasure to meet you. Or as my other more known name, Nike, goddess of victory.” 

Yuuri stood frozen for an instant. “Eh!?” Grey eyes widened and darted desperately to and from Viktor’s face.

Viktor only smiled mischievously, watching as the snow spirit started turning redder than a rose. 

“Let’s have some fun, shall we?” Laughter that sounded like wind chimes flowed through the clearing, all the while yells of mortification and confusion fell like snowflakes.

This was the start.


	5. Chapter 5

Having a partner on the ice was a wonderful change, Yuuri thought. Viktor was very fun to be around, even if he teased Yuuri mercilessly. 

_‘And he is a very enthusiastic student.’_ Yuuri smiled as he watched Viktor skate and dance on the lake, showing off to him. 

Viktor botched a spin and fell straight into a pile of snow on the ground. He soon got jumped up, grinning and thumb up, exclaiming, “I’m okay, I’m okay!”

Yuuri giggled, hand over his mouth. _‘But he still has a ways to go.’_

The goddess of victory was certainly a character. 

Yuuri yelped as a sudden gust of wind blew him into the snow. He looked up, pouting, to see Viktor smirking down at him.

“Surely you weren’t laughing at me, Yuuri?” He teased, his wind playfully ruffling his hair.

Yuuri slyly moved his hand behind him and then shot a snowball at the other, smacking him right in the chest. 

“I would never!” He said, running and ducking behind a tree for cover, trying and failing to smother his giggles.

“Oh? Is that so?” Viktor grinned, play-acting looking around for Yuuri when suddenly he vanished.

Yuuri didn’t even have time to blink before arms encircled him, twirling him in the air.

“I must have misheard! This clearly isn’t laughter!” Clever fingers roamed and tickled the snow spirit into oblivion. 

Yuuri was snorting with laughter, eyes tearing up. He tried in vain to struggle away. 

“Ah! I give up, I give up!” He cried, sapphire tears disappearing beneath a blanket of white. 

Viktor ceased his tickling, arms still around the other in a hug for a brief moment before he let go. 

Blue eyes twinkled, mouth smiling. “You look cute when you’re happy.” Viktor winked at him.

Yuuri blushed, still panting from the impromptu tickle fight. He turned his head away and covered his face with his arms, unable to deal with the compliment. 

He felt a kiss against the top of his head, freezing. 

“I’m kidding. You always look cute.” Viktor smiled fondly as Yuuri squeaked and ran into the woods once more to hide. 

The goddess raised his arm, waving to the snow spirit no doubt watching him. 

“See you tomorrow, Yuuri!” A kiss was blown, the wind delivering it.

Yuuri stared at the space Viktor occupied a second earlier, now gone. He groaned, sinking down to the ground and leaning against a tree. 

“He’s going to be the death of me!” He breathed out, face still red. 

“But… see you tomorrow, Viktor.” Yuuri blew his own kiss to the wind before realizing what he had done and began rolling around on the ground, frost curling on his skin. 

_‘Why did I do that!?’_ He buried his face into the snow, heart beating what felt like a mile a minute. 

Yuuri had the feeling that he was going to ask himself this question a lot in the coming future.


	6. Chapter 6

Viktor had never known anyone to be so confident yet shy, so sweet yet lonely…

So young yet strong.

And as he watched Yuuri dance on the lake, he somehow felt both fond and envious. 

_‘Yuuri, you’re amazing.’_ Viktor smiled wistfully, reaching up to brush away a stray strand of hair. 

He wondered. If he had known Yuuri all those years and years ago, at the beginning, would anything have changed? Would his choices have been the same?

Of course, he already knew the answer. 

Yes. It was yes. For how could anyone know Yuuri and not be changed? 

Yuuri was kind. Being his friend, teaching him how to skate, goofing off with him, even just talking to him…

_‘The Fates are cruel.’_ Viktor watched as Yuuri skated around the ice he created, white kimono sleeves flowing with the wind.

Viktor had only known the other for a short while, and yet. 

And yet, he wanted to know everything about him. He wanted to skate, talk and laugh with him even more. 

_‘You would have been a balm to me, back then. If you had been there, then…’_ Viktor gazed down at his hands. 

Those thoughts might be true. And maybe a lot of things would have turned out for the better if he had had someone he could depend on. 

But all those mistakes, all those regrets, all of those hardships… 

They had brought him here, to this moment. They were good for this, at least.

And anyway, even if things had turned out differently, who knows what else might have been affected?

It was just a never ending cycle. 

_‘I’m here with Yuuri, right here, right now.’_ Viktor smiled, his spirits returning once more. He looked up, only to catch the snow spirit’s eyes. He looked worried.

“Ah, Yuuri! You’re so cute I could just eat you up!” And with that, the worried look went away and an exasperated and flustered one took its place.

The here and the now, that’s what mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Viktor has a lot going on in his head sometimes.


	7. Chapter 7

“Viktor-san, before you go… would you like to watch the stars with me?” Yuuri asked one evening, after a long and satisfying day of skating.

Viktor smiled. “Sure, that sounds fun!” And he watched as Yuuri lit up with happiness. It was a sight he wanted to see many times over. 

Yuuri wore joy well.

So they sat in the snow, waiting for the stars to show. A nice breeze was out, mingling amongst them. 

The silence was broken when Viktor asked, “Do you ever wish… that you could go back in time and do something different?”

Yuuri looked over at him, confusion on his face.

Viktor rubbed the back of his head. “Ah, sorry. What I mean is… do you have any regrets?” He avoided looking the other in the eyes and instead focused his gaze on the ground.

“Of course I do.” There had been no hesitation. It had come barely a second after his question. 

“But doesn’t everyone?” Viktor looked at Yuuri, and took comfort in the certainty in his grey eyes. 

A small smile appeared, and he softly laughed, not saying anything.

A few moments passed. Yuuri spoke up once again. 

“I think everyone deals with regret differently. But personally, I look back on my mistakes and think ‘I’ll do better next time’.”

Viktor hummed pensively. “What if you don’t get a ‘next time’?” 

Yuuri smiled at him. 

“Then you do your best anyways.” 

Viktor sat frozen, then leaned back on his hands.

“How is it you’re so wise, Yuuri?” He canted his head to the side, seeing the snow spirit smile with nostalgia. 

“I’m not wise, Viktor-san, just lucky. My family and friends had a well of support for me that never ran dry. It’s only because of them that I can look back on my mistakes fondly.”

Viktor smiled gently. “You’re amazing, Yuuri.” And he reached over and took his hand in his own.

For once, Yuuri didn’t say anything, even if his cheeks did pink. He just squeezed Viktor’s hand, going back to stargazing. 

_‘Thank you.’_

Because Yuuri inspired him and made him want to try again. 

This being of ice and snow, of kindness and humility, never failed to surprise him. 

Viktor wanted to stay with him more and more, the longer he knew him.

So he sat and watched the stars with Yuuri, their two hands clasped together. 

_‘Thank you for being my friend.’_


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing this, then it spiraled rapidly out of control, haha. This ended up being the longest (so far!) chapter and also the one I'm proudest of. Hope you enjoy! :)

Yuuri was shook awake, Viktor yelling, “Up! Up! Let’s go!” 

He wearily got up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, staring at the other exasperatedly. 

“What? Where do you want to go so early in the morning, Viktor-san?” Yuuri was not a morning person, but it seemed as if Viktor was.

“Why, someplace else, of course! I want to show you something!” Viktor put his hands on his hips, grinning. 

Yuuri sighed, resigned to whatever this was. He yawned as he spoke. “Alright, alright. Let’s go.”

And in the next instant, they had joined hands and disappeared with the wind.

The first thing that Yuuri had noticed was how warm it was. 

Then he noticed the crowd, people moving to and fro, like ants.

The architecture had him curious, and he studied it for several minutes before he realized Viktor was just standing there, smiling at him. 

He nervously smiled, feeling his face colour, before following Viktor to a fountain in the middle of the plaza.

They both took a seat on it, side by side as they gazed out at the crowd..

Viktor’s head turned his way. 

“This is what I like to do sometimes. People watching!” 

“Won’t they noticed us?” Yuuri asked, a bit anxious if that were the case. 

The goddess threw his head back and laughed, and to him it sounded like the loud clanging of bells.

He smiled, his nerves disappearing. 

“Yuuri, humans can’t notice us. The most they could feel is a chill or a breeze if we bump into them.”

Viktor turned to watch the crowd once more. 

“I’ve always found it interesting to think about humans and their relation to us, and how they can’t even see us but have faith.”

The goddess put a hand to his chin, as if deep in thought. 

“Because, you see, a goddess like me, their whole purpose, is to answer prayers. Well, and their other duties, but I always tend to shirk those!” Here he smirked, looking like a trickster. 

Yuuri sweat dropped, feeling a bit sorry for those who had been left with Viktor’s messes to clean up.

“But as time goes on, people lose faith more and more… a lot of deities have lost purpose, including me, now that no one really prays to us anymore.” 

The snow spirit saw him frown, almost curling in on himself.

He didn’t know what to say. Would words even be able to help? He didn’t know, and he was scared of saying the wrong thing, but…

He had to try, because this was Viktor. 

“Um, Viktor-san.” He just blurted it out awkwardly, and he wanted to curl up and hide immediately. 

But the other glanced at him, silently urging him to go on. He internally gulped, but steeled himself.

“If.. even if people have lost their faith, um…” He could feel himself starting to tear up, not being able to find any words to help, and feeling like a failure for it. 

Could he really not help ease his friend’s burden, something that was supposed to be so simple?

His hands started shaking. 

“Yuuri.” 

He felt something touch him, before noticing that Viktor had taken his hands.

The other wore a kind smile as his bright blue eyes stared into his grey ones. 

“I’ve had a long time to come to terms with this. And I don’t think anyone could fix this, and believe me, I’ve seen some try.”

Viktor let go of one of his hands to reach up and dry his tears. 

Then he leaned in and hugged him. 

“You don’t have to try so hard to fix everything, Yuuri.” 

This hug felt different from the ones before. It felt like… a firm promise.

“But thank you for trying.” 

Yuuri smiled, even though he started crying again. 

He hugged Viktor back tightly and didn’t let go.


	9. Chapter 9

Viktor had come by expecting to see Yuuri still asleep, but the snow spirit was apparently already up and waiting for him.

“Now this is something I didn’t expect. Yuuri, awake so early.” Viktor teased, walking over to the other.

Yuuri’s eyes crinkled, and he smiled. “I had to find the right spot.”

Viktor paused, leaning a palm to his cheek. “The right spot for what?” 

The snow spirit frowned. “I felt bad for ruining our trip yesterday… So I thought why not take you somewhere instead?” 

“You didn’t ruin anything. Any time spent with you is time not wasted.” He said sternly, before smiling gently.

Yuuri didn’t say anything, too busy staring and trying not to tear up.

He clapped his hands. 

“Now then, shall you spirit me away?” 

Yuuri smiled, before nodding his head once. 

“Alright! Um, follow me, please.” 

They didn’t even notice that they were holding hands as they left.

After some walking, Yuuri led him to an abandoned parking lot, nervously fidgeting. 

“I know this might not be the best for this, or what you’re used to, or…” He trailed off, before stopping himself.

Yuuri breathed out, and turned to face him. 

“May I please have this dance?” His hand extended as he bowed, his face hidden.

Viktor’s hand grasped his.

“You may.” 

Looking up, Yuuri found a fond, soft smile waiting for him.

He mirrored it, taking the hand that was offered and leading the other in a waltz. 

Snowflakes started slowly drifting down.

Yuuri tried not to think of his hand on Viktor’s waist, and instead focused on the steps, looking down at their feet.

“Yuuri.” 

He looked up, blushing, but faltered.

Viktor’s bright blue eyes were smiling.

Without even realizing it, his nerves disappeared and he confidently took control of the dance, a grin on his face.

They danced until their breath came rushing out of them, switching dances and positions like channels on a television screen.

And as they braced their hands on their knees, they both looked at each other at the same time and laughed for no reason. 

And as they made their way back to the lake, Viktor felt Yuuri take his hand.

He looked over but could only see the side of his face as he turned away.

He gripped it, lightly squeezing. 

And he saw Yuuri smile, so he did too.

“Ah, all that exercise made me thirsty! What do you say we go and get something to drink?”

“Viktor-san, how would we order? And what about money?”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, Yuuri! Leave it all to me!”

“There’s no way I could, not when you say something like that!”

Their voices trailed off as they turned a corner, early morning joggers not even glancing their way.

Even as they playfully argued with Yuuri looking absolutely exasperated and Viktor smirking, both of their hands never let go of each other.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SuperSailingShipper made an amazing drawing of Yuuri on their tumblr! Check it out, it's adorable! 
> 
> http://otp-templar.tumblr.com/post/153228037325/a-drawing-i-made-of-yuuri-for-the-fic-if-theres
> 
> Thank you again for drawing it! :)

They had just finished skating for that day and were now sitting side by side in the snow, backs against a tree.

“Why do you always stay here, Yuuri?” Viktor asked, curious. 

It seemed like Yuuri even slept in the woods here, something Viktor was baffled by. He was a snow spirit, couldn’t he just make a place to sleep? And surely it would be more comfortable than the forest floor.

Yuuri wrapped his arms around his knees, resting his head on them. 

“This is actually where I died.” 

Viktor glanced at him, and hummed thoughtfully.

“It seems like it doesn’t bother you.”

Yuuri smiled. “It used to, but now… I have happy memories of this place, too.”

The wind whistled through the trees behind them, the woods silent.

The goddess leaned against Yuuri and his head landed on the other’s shoulder.

“I’m glad.” 

Yuuri felt cool against his face, but not cold. He closed his eyes, taking in the peaceful silence that had swept over the area. 

_‘Ah, how comfortable.’_

And he really didn’t mean to, but Viktor dozed off just like that, wrapped up in the stillness.

It took a few minutes for the snow spirit to notice. 

_‘Viktor-san…’_ He smiled, looking down at the other.

Yuuri leaned in and kissed his head. 

“Sleep well.” 

_‘Those happy memories I have… You’re in a lot of them.’_

He leaned back more comfortably against the tree, closing his eyes and relaxing. 

_‘Let’s make many more together, okay?’_

They had all the time in the world, after all. 

But for once, that didn’t seem like such a daunting thought. 

If Viktor was with him, then… 

Yuuri thought it felt more like a blessing.

They still had so much to do, so many things to see and try, conversations to have, places to go…

But there was no rush. 

So Yuuri fell asleep, Viktor’s head on his shoulder. 

There would be plenty to do when they woke up


	11. Chapter 11

“Ah, isn’t that one pretty, Yuuri?” Viktor asked him, pointing to a long fluffy scarf hanging from a mannequin inside a store.

They had taken a break from skating today, instead wandering into the small town a ways from the lake.

They were currently window shopping.

_‘Viktor-san is easily enamored.’_ Yuuri thought with a small smile. The other had been looking at all kinds of clothes, praising most of them.

“Ah, it is nice.” He said, taking a closer look. 

It was black with a pattern of little stars all over it. 

Viktor smiled at him. “It would look very cute on you!” 

His eyes went to it again and then back to the goddess.

“Huh? You think so?”

Viktor tilted his head and winked at him. “Yes, I do.”

Yuuri barely felt the gentle touch of a gust of wind before fabric was draped around his neck. His eyes widened, and he reached fingers up to touch it.

“Viktor-san, how are we going to pay for this?”

Viktor took his hand and began dragging him away from the store, already headed to another.

“I may not have money but I have other ways of repaying my debts, don’t worry.”

Viktor turned at him and lightly laughed. 

“I’m a goddess, after all!”

And with that, the snow spirit was swept into a whirlwind of ogling and gazing at wares that the stores had put out. 

And as he watched Viktor “Ooh!” and “Ah!” over everything, he decided to just enjoy himself. 

Burying his fingers into his new scarf, he softly giggled. 

_‘I suppose I’ll let you off the hook this time, Viktor-san. Just this once.’_

He sent a snowflake to land on the other’s nose. 

When the goddess yelped and turned shocked eyes on him, he laughed.

“Must be Jack Frost nipping at your nose,” he mischievously said before turning and walking to the next shop.

Viktor threw his hands up, playfully proclaiming, “Ah! How could this be? My shy Yuuri is teasing me!”

Yuuri looked over his shoulder, smirking. 

“Why, Viktor-san, I would never.”

He broke into a run as the other started chasing him, peals of laughter ringing like bells through the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yuri is coming next chapter! Something to be excited for, I guess? He came a lot sooner than I anticipated, haha. Hope you enjoyed! :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Just finished watching the latest three episodes of Yuri on Ice, and wow. They were amazing! :D
> 
> I'm super hyped for my copy of Pokemon Moon to arrive, so if I end up failing in my consistent daily posting you'll know what to blame. I'll try my best to still get out one drabble a day, though! :3

Yuri frowned, huffing out a breath as he sat, head in one palm. 

Why was he even here? 

The other spirits and deities all sat talking, some looking over and pointing at him occasionally. 

Was he this desperate for something to do that he came here, where those losers were?

He could hear them whispering about him. 

_‘Gross.’_ He scrunched up his nose, glaring in their direction. They quickly turned away.

Yuri crossed his arms, scowling. 

_‘This place is the worst.’_

He remembered his first time coming here, how reluctantly impressed he had been. 

But then he had come across some freak bullying a minor spirit.

He remembered how he scaled the trees and hid in them for hours, after everyone here shouted and stared at him for standing up to a god, for daring to scratch his face and making him bleed.

His admiration for them had crumbled like pillars of sand. 

The one good thing that came of it was that spirit he helped, finding him after everyone had left. 

Their face had been a mess from crying, but they still hugged him and thanked him over and over.

“I was so scared,” they had admitted, and that was when Yuri decided that he was pissed.

Let that god come and take revenge. 

Let him try.

And he had, but Yuri was prepared and had challenged him to a contest. 

And won. 

“Leave. And don’t come back.” His eyes gleaming, his mouth in a straight line, Yuri stood in front of him.

Even though he was shorter, he was looking down on him.

No one had expected him to win. 

And no one had expected that he would keep challenging and winning contests off of deities that thought it fun to abuse their status. 

They soon became wary of him, ostracizing him. 

Tch. _‘Like I could ever care what they think about me.’_ Yuri blew out a breath and then stood up, heading for the exit. 

No one stopped him as he left.

_‘It’s about time I go pay that idiot a visit.’_

Yuri smirked, his mood already better.

A small white cat jumped and disappeared into thin air.


	13. Chapter 13

“So this is what you’ve been up to?” 

Yuuri and Viktor paused in what they were doing as they looked back towards the voice.

A young, slim man emerged from the woods, face unimpressed.

Viktor grinned. 

“Ah, Yurio! Did you come all this way just to see me?” 

The newly dubbed Yurio flinched back, looking as if he were already regretting his choice in coming here.

“I told you not to call me that, damn it!” He had regained himself and was coming forward, standing in front of the goddess now, blustering. 

“Why’d you come visit me, Yurio? Did you get lonely?” And even though he was teasing, they all knew that his question was serious. 

Yurio scowled, arms crossing. 

“No way! I was just passing through, that’s all! Don’t you dare get it mixed up!” 

Viktor smiled, tilting his head to the side. 

“I see you’re the same as ever.” He laughed after saying it.

Yurio glared, cat’s eyes shining. 

“And you’re just as idiotic as ever!” He blew out a breath. 

Yuuri gazed back and forth between the two. 

“Ah, excuse me, um, but… who are you?”

The snow spirit was very confused.

The both of them turned to look back at him, both of them surprised, as if just now remembering that someone else was there. 

_‘They must be good friends.’_ Yuuri noted to himself, curious. 

Viktor punched his fist into his hand, exclaiming, “Right! Yuuri, this is Yuri, but just call him Yurio, hmm? We’ve been acquaintances for a while now, haven’t we?” He looked at Yurio and playfully winked.

The goddess hummed thoughtfully. 

“Just think of him as… a child under my protection?” 

Yuuri watched as Yurio grimaced and started yelling, hands gesturing as if they wanted to strangle the other. 

Viktor was grinning and laughing. 

_‘I can see why he teases me now.’_ Yuuri smiled.

Yurio might seem angry at first, but… 

_‘The way he’s leaning towards Viktor-san, the look in his eyes, how he keeps talking.’_

It seemed he had come here for Viktor, after all. 

Yuuri coughed. 

After he had their attention, he gestured to the lake. 

“Why not skate together?” 

Yurio harrumphed. “Tch! I guess.”

He then looked Viktor in the eye and smirked. 

“You up for a challenge, old timer?” 

Viktor smiled with deadly force, his eyes closed. 

“Of course, I’ll console you when you lose.”

Yuuri laughed. 

He wondered what Yurio was like. He found he was curious about him, and his past with Viktor.

_‘I also want to see his skills on the ice.’_ The snow spirit moved over to watch as they started a contest between each other. 

Either way…

_‘I look forward to getting to know you!’_

With a graceful movement, Yuuri glided onto the lake, leaving trails of ice where he skated.

“Well? You weren’t forgetting about me, were you?” He asked playfully, dancing elegantly.

Yurio smirked. “Heh. You won’t be beating me on the ice.”

As they stared at each other, it was as if sparks were igniting. 

Viktor smiled, hand over his mouth. 

_‘My, my. How unexpected.’_

It seemed like Yuuri and Yurio had each found a rival.


	14. Chapter 14

“Humph, you’re not bad, I suppose.” Yurio panted out while leaning his arms on his knees. 

Yuuri was also out of breath and red from exertion. 

“Thank you! You’re very good, Yurio-kun.” He was smiling as he said it, worn out but satisfied. 

Viktor applauded, grinning at them. 

“The both of you were wonderful on the ice! It had my heart beating like crazy!”

Yuuri and Yurio glanced at each other. 

Yurio smirked and held out a hand to him. 

“Next time, I’ll win for sure.” 

Yuuri shook his hand and lightly laughed. 

“I’ll look forward to it, Yurio-kun.”

After that, the three of them took a break and relaxed in the cool, refreshing winter air. 

Yurio leaned back casually, turning to look at him. 

“So how’d you learn how to skate like that?”

Viktor leaned in, also curious. 

He smiled, grey eyes bright. “I’m mostly self-taught, but having experience in ballet definitely helps, I think.”

The two of them emitted sounds of surprise. 

Yuuri laughed. 

“I have more experience in ballet than ice skating, actually.” 

Viktor hummed. 

“What made you want to skate, then?”

He crossed his legs, leaning his back against a tree as he thought. 

“I don’t really know how to put it into words…” He trailed off, a pensive expression at home on his face. 

“It’s just… while ballet is fun, ice skating is something that helps me when I get anxious, or scared, or bored.”

He looked at them, grey eyes shining. 

“Skating makes me happy.” 

Yuuri then looked away, rubbing the back of his head. 

“Sorry if I didn’t make much sense.”

Yurio punched him none too lightly in the shoulder. 

“I got it just fine, Snowflake.” He then turned away and stared into the distance. 

Yuuri winced and rubbed his shoulder but softly smiled, heart warm.

He felt Viktor grab his hand, squeezing it tightly. 

He didn’t need to say anything. 

Yuuri heard what he said, loud and clear.

Feeling giddy, he turned his body to grab Viktor’s face with his other hand. 

Right as Viktor started to open his mouth, Yuuri leaned in and kissed his cheek. 

He grinned and watched as Viktor’s eyes widened and his cheeks colored the palest pink. 

He had the feeling that Viktor had heard him, too. 

Yurio’s voice suddenly interrupted the moment they were in, making them jump. 

“Get a room you two, geez!” 

Yuuri started stammering, arms waving. 

Viktor actually stuttered a bit as well before recovering and getting up to go chase the other. 

All of a sudden, Yuuri’s head was filled with thoughts of an intimate nature. 

Yuuri slapped both of his cheeks, his face flushed. 

_‘Ah! What am I doing!? Those kinds of thoughts!’_

He sank to the ground and buried his head in the snow. 

His whole body felt dizzy and warm. 

He groaned, frost spreading over his skin in response to his embarrassment. 

_‘Viktor-san can never know.’_ Yuuri thought to himself, resolute. 

Either way, he wouldn’t be able to face Viktor until at least a few hours had passed.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My copy of Pokemon Moon should be coming today! I'm so excited to play it! :3

“I’m gonna beat both of you, just you wait!” Yurio shouted, his hands gathering up sand and patting it down in a big lump. 

Viktor and Yuuri each had their own pile of sand, though they were smaller than Yurio’s. 

They turned to face each other and grinned. 

“Shall we team up, Viktor-san?” 

The goddess winked and nodded. 

“Looks like we’ve got you beat, Yurio!” He said as he melded the both of their lumpy sandcastles together. 

Yurio did a double take. “What!? How is that fair? You’re both cheating!” He started gathering sand even faster, his expression harried. 

“We’re not cheating, we just teamed up!” Viktor playfully exclaimed, laughing. 

Yurio had decided to take them to the beach, saying before they left, “It’s too cold here. Come on losers, we’re going somewhere I can sunbathe.”

Yuuri was glad they came. It was nice to be somewhere so warm and sunny for once. His little lake was home for the time being, but taking a vacation from it was a good idea, just for a bit. 

The snow spirit giggled, mischievously toppling their sandcastle and moving over to help Yurio build his. 

Viktor yelped. “Yuuri, my darling! How could you betray me like this?” 

Yurio smirked at him. 

“He didn’t betray you, he just teamed up with me, right?” He snickered, and Yuuri tried not to laugh at the expression on Viktor’s face. 

In the end, they won, the goddess not being able to build fast enough to compete. 

He stood pouting, hands on his hips. 

“Well. It’s clear to me now what your true colors really are, Yuuri.” 

Yuuri came over and blew him a kiss, teasingly saying, “Forgive me?” 

Viktor caught it in his hand and then blew the snow spirit one of his own. 

“Of course. Yuuri is the one I adore most in the world, after all.” He smiled at him, blue eyes twinkling. 

Yuuri stumbled, eyes wide. 

“Really?” He asked, not sure he heard right. 

The goddess cocked his hip to the side and said, blunt, “Yes.”

His heart was beating like crazy and he felt lightheaded. Red was painted across his face as he smiled brightly. 

Yuuri reached for the other’s hand, gripping it tightly. 

“Viktor-san is someone I like very much.” 

The waves crashed in the background, seagulls cawing. 

Viktor and Yuuri sat down in the sand, letting their feet get wet in the ocean. Their sides were pushed up against each other, but neither minded. 

The snow spirit tilted his head to the side. 

“Viktor-san is the best thing to come into my life, I think.” He said it out loud, but it sounded like it was supposed to stay in his head. 

The goddess yelled in excitement, pouncing on Yuuri and knocking them both over. He enthusiastically kissed his forehead, cheeks, nose, eyebrows, the corner of his mouth… 

Yuuri smiled. 

Then he leaned up and pulled Viktor down into a kiss, this time on his mouth. 

It was short and over in a second, more like a peck than a kiss really. 

Viktor leaned his arms down on either side of Yuuri’s head, seeming stunned. 

The snow spirit looked surprised at himself, but then started determinedly up at the other, as if saying, ‘Yes, I did that. What are you going to do about it?’ 

Viktor smiled fondly down at him and laughed. 

A hand came up and cupped the side of Yuuri’s face. 

“Never stop surprising me, Yuuri.” 

This time, the both of them leaned in. 

Their second kiss was a lot longer, but it was different from the first. 

It was sweet and tender, both parties smiling into it. 

Eventually, they had to come up for air. 

Yuuri was panting as if he had been running a marathon and Viktor found it extremely cute. 

Then again, Viktor found that Yuuri in general was the most adorable person he had ever known, so maybe he was biased. 

He took his hand and pulled him up, their hands finding each other again. 

They turned, and saw Yurio over by their sandcastles, making a face and gagging at them.

A faint, “Seriously, get a room!” could be heard. 

Their eyes slid to each other.

The both of them burst out laughing at the same time, having to lean on each other for support.

They had no idea why it was so funny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter surprised me as I was writing it! I had no idea what Viktor and Yuuri were doing, haha. 
> 
> I think this was the most fun one to write, so far. Hope you enjoyed! :)


	16. Chapter 16

It was dusk, and the beach was washed in the colours of the evening. 

All three of them sat in the sand, drinking in the peaceful silence. 

Yuri found that he was actually having fun with these two losers, much to his surprise. 

He hadn’t expected this when he had come for Viktor. This serene day-to-day. 

He hadn’t expected Yuuri, either. 

_‘To think the day has come that that idiot has found someone.’_ He blew out a breath idly, watching as the stars started to appear in the sky. 

He would never say it out loud, but he was happy for Viktor. 

Anyone with eyes could see that the two of them were falling in love. It was so sweet it almost made him sick to his stomach. 

_‘They suit each other.’_ He watched as they held hands as if it were perfectly natural, content smiles on both their faces. 

It was like they had a bubble around them whenever they interacted, and it never popped. 

They looked at each other like there was no place they’d rather be, like they never wanted to look away.

They adored each other. 

He grimaced and turned away from the both of them. 

_‘They’ll give me cavities at this rate, damn it!’_

Yuri tucked his knees up and put his arms around them, gazing out at the ocean as waves crashed and receded. 

He thought again of how strange it felt to be around this atmosphere, and to be included. 

He wasn’t used to it at all, and sometimes it overwhelmed him. 

But as time went by and he got more to use to it and them…

_‘Is this what it feels like to have friends?’_ Yuri wondered, digging his bare feet into the grainy sand. 

It had been such a long time, he had almost forgotten the feeling and all it brought. 

It made him want those two imbeciles to hurry up and get together. 

Because he wanted the both of them to be happy, which was embarrassing as hell. 

Just the thought of it made his ears redden, and he scowled angrily. 

Those two were clearly to blame for all these stupid feelings he was having, and he wanted to resent them, but found that he couldn’t. 

Yuri scoffed and flopped down onto his stomach, glancing to the side only to see them quietly talking, looking lost in each other’s eyes again. 

He saw Viktor lean in and kiss Yuuri on the forehead, and the snow spirit shyly smiled and said something back that made the goddess’s eyes crinkle fondly. 

He snorted and turned away, rolling onto his back and closing his eyes. 

_‘Those two deserve each other.’_

He fell asleep to the sound of faint laughter and the gentle crashing of the waves.


	17. Chapter 17

“Look at this one, Yurio-kun!” Yuuri held up a large white seashell, smiling excitedly. 

He sneered, gesturing proudly to his own seashell that was a light pink, but smaller. 

“Mine’s clearly the best one here.” 

The snow spirit came over to compare them, tongue sticking out in concentration. 

“Oh, it is pretty!” Bright grey eyes widened. 

Yurio scowled. 

“Why do you sound so surprised, you moron?” 

Yuuri giggled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. 

“It’s just that I never took you for the type to have an eye for this sort of thing. Sorry!” 

Yurio glanced away and hummed.

“I guess you’re not wrong.”

He turned to look back at Yuuri again. 

“But even I can appreciate nature. I spend a lot of time in it, after all.” 

The snow spirit tilted his head, a questioning look on his face. 

He crossed his arms, blowing out a breath as if he were bothered. 

“I explore a lot, and most nights I end up sleeping up in trees or caves if I can find them.” 

Yuuri clapped his hands together, eyes lit up. 

“That sounds so exciting!” 

He snorted. “Don’t you sleep in the forest?”

“Yes, but that’s different. My lake is familiar to me. I hardly go traveling.” 

Yuuri walked over and grabbed his hand, tugging at him. 

He struggled, trying to break away. 

“Oi! What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” 

Yuuri turned to him and grinned. 

“We’re going exploring!” 

Yurio was stunned at the sheer audacity of this idiot. 

“We? What we!?” 

He continued complaining and shouting as Yuuri continued to drag him along, fuming in the back of his mind.

_‘You’ve found yourself a real keeper, Viktor.’_ He thought to himself, resigned to it all for now. 

He tried again, and sure enough, Yuuri’s firm grip was still there. 

He despaired for the days to come with these two, because clearly they were a match made in heaven.

_‘They’re both stubborn idiots!’_

As they exited the beach and neared a forest, they suddenly heard a voice from behind them. 

“Well now, you weren’t having fun without me, were you?” Viktor grinned, moving over. 

And he watched exasperatedly as they began to get caught up in the idea of ‘exploring the area’, the both of them gesturing excitedly. 

Twin grins turned to look back at him and he flinched back. 

They ushered him into the forest and he grumbled. 

_‘I’m never going anywhere with these two losers again. Why did I even think of bringing them with me in the first place? I must have been on something when I invited them.’_

As he rambled on to himself in his head, he felt hands brush against his. 

His eyes came to rest on the both of them smiling at him and he grimaced back.

“What?” He barked, irritated. 

Viktor laughed a little, shaking his head fondly. 

“If you really don’t want to do this, then we won’t. But don’t you think it’ll be fun?” 

He scoffed derisively. “Hell no!” 

Yuuri smirked back at him.

“Oh, you’re giving up so soon?”

He bristled, glaring. “Huh? What was that?”

Grey eyes taunted him playfully. “I guess I win, then.” 

Yurio scowled, marching up to the snow spirit and sneering up at him. 

“Win what, huh? What did you win?” 

Yuuri’s smirk broke and he started laughing lightly, smiling down at him. 

“I’m the winner of exploring, of course! Since it seems like you don’t want to.”

Yurio snatched up his hand and walked over to snatch up Viktor’s as well. 

“Screw that! No way am I going to let you beat me, you got that?” 

He started leading them through the woods, his experience aiding him. 

Viktor and Yuuri shared a fond smile over his head, gripping his hand in theirs. 

It had been a pretty fun way to end their trip to the beach, Yurio admitted to himself. 

But he sure as hell wasn’t going to say it out loud to those two. 

He glowered as he felt their hands squeeze his, the both of them chattering enthusiastically on what to do tomorrow. 

Before all three parted ways, they both hugged him. 

Red dusted his ears as he tried in vain to escape their affections. 

It just figured that they already knew what he didn’t say.


	18. Chapter 18

“I think you would look stunning.” 

Yuuri followed Viktor’s gaze to a window shop full of makeup. 

He looked back at the other again.

“Really? I was always a bit curious…” 

Yuuri smiled. “It always seemed like it made people more confidant, so I was interested in trying it.”

Viktor grabbed his hand and pulled him through the door.

The goddess turned and grinned, his eyes crinkling. 

“We can try it now!” 

And with that said, he proceeded to get distracted by every little thing in the shop. 

Yuuri laughed, hand over his mouth. 

One could always count on Viktor to be easily sidetracked. 

_‘Though I can’t say it’s not cute…’_ He smiled to himself, walking over and weaving their hands together casually. 

“Let’s not go too crazy, alright? Why don’t we just get one thing for now?” 

Something caught his eye and he tugged at the other, leading them over. 

“Really, Yuuri? But I think everything would look good on you…” Viktor pouted, genuinely seeming conflicted over not being able to buy everything in the store. 

He rolled his eyes and picked up something, turning it over in his hands. 

“And what about you, Viktor-san?” 

He picked up something else, comparing the two. 

“You’re picking out something for me, Yuuri?” Viktor twirled them in a circle, bright blue eyes sparkling.

The snow spirit barely managed not to drop what he held, his chest warm from the excitement in Viktor’s voice. 

“I’ve found something for the both of us. What do you think?” He handed them over, their fingers brushing and sending a tingle down his spine.

The goddess hummed for a moment, then grinned and winked at him, holding up one of them as the winner.

“It’s this one! This one is perfect!” 

Yuuri giggled and dragged Viktor into a spontaneous dip. 

“Let’s hurry and put it on, then.” 

They went back to the lake, anticipation filling the both of them.

“And… voila! All done! Are you ready?”

They had each done their own makeup, wanting to surprise each other. 

“Yes! Let’s turn around now.” 

They spun face to face at the same time. 

Yuuri took in the sight of Viktor’s eyes having glitter all over and around them, it not looking quite right for all that he had tried. 

“Wow! You look magical, Yuuri!” Viktor leaned in close, his breath fanning out over his face. 

He saw wide blue eyes, staring at him in wonder. 

Yuuri smiled tenderly and laced their hands together.

He stared at the other’s lips, closer now than before. He had been leaning in and hadn’t even realized. 

He stopped. 

“I’m going to kiss you.” He just blurted it out.

Then he smashed their lips together hard, squeezing the hand in his.

It actually hurt a bit but he didn’t stop and neither did Viktor.

Well, until they came up for air what felt like a long time later.

They leaned their foreheads together, panting and grinning at each other in giddy joy. 

“Kiss me again.” Yuuri demanded, taking hold of Viktor’s cheek and holding it, as if afraid he would look away.

Viktor looked like a man under a siren’s spell, expression enraptured. 

“Yuuri.” He breathed out, speechless. 

They locked lips for a second time, lost in each other, hands still clasped.


	19. Chapter 19

“What are we doing today?” Yuuri’s face looked tired and his nose was red, eyes exhausted as he stared at them. 

“You’re going right back to bed and we’re taking care of you.” Viktor smiled forcefully, grabbing the other’s shoulders and steering him to the pile of snow that he usually slept on, beneath a tree. 

_‘And one day, I’m going to get you into a proper bed.’_ The goddess thought to himself while laying a weakly protesting Yuuri down. 

“Now just go to sleep while we go and get some things for you, hmm?” Viktor caressed his cheek and leaned down to kiss his forehead lightly. 

Yuuri coughed, his expression hazy. 

“Don’t be long.” He reached a hand out and tightly gripped at Viktor’s sleeve, as if afraid he wouldn’t be coming back.

The goddess frowned and gently steered the hand off of him, squeezing it once firmly. 

“We’ll be back before you know it, Yuuri!” He forced a smile and tried to act cheerful, but his eyes shone with worry. 

Yuuri turned his head slowly and looked at him, grey eyes not quite focusing properly. 

“Please don’t leave me.” 

He looked vulnerable in that moment, and Viktor’s heart ached. 

Before he could even respond, Yuuri fell asleep then and there. 

_‘What do I do?’_ He thought, suddenly panicked. He had just blurted out that they would go get something to help, but he didn’t have the slightest clue on how to care for a sick person! 

This had never happened before. It was extremely rare for deities to get sick, but apparently it was different for spirits. 

He was suddenly regretting his fickle nature, for never staying long enough on the battlefields to see how humans took care of the wounded. 

Because when would he have ever needed to learn how to care for someone? 

“Oi, Viktor, hurry up.” 

A hand landed on his shoulder and he jumped, startled out of his own head. 

Yurio frowned and yanked him up roughly.

“What are you doing wasting time here? Let’s go!”

Viktor’s fists clenched. 

He followed Yurio’s lead, trusting that he knew what he was doing. 

He couldn’t help but feel both angry and worried at the same time as they gathered supplies. 

Because what if Yurio hadn’t been there? What would have happened to Yuuri? 

It would have been all his fault. 

He was the one who spread victory over the winds, and yet he felt like a failure. 

“Snap out of your pity party, damn it!” Yurio’s hand came crashing down onto a table with a loud smack.

Viktor came back to himself and his eyes widened as he saw that Yurio seemed genuinely angry for once. 

Yurio’s voice rose and he began shouting.

“Look, I don’t know what your deal is right now, but Yuuri needs us to get back with everything and help!” 

He strode over and looked up at the goddess, his eyes burning. 

“So suck it up, idiot! If you don’t know how to help right now, follow my instructions and then go out and learn later, damn it!” 

_‘Yuri…’_ It was rare to see him so furious.

_‘But he’s right.’_

Viktor pushed all of his worry, his anger, his helplessness, everything to the back of his mind and preceded to focus on the task at hand. 

They arrived shortly at the lake and cared for Yuuri, Viktor following Yurio’s directions on what to do.

And after it was all done and Yuuri peacefully sleeping, his temperature finally going down, they sat down for a well-deserved break in the snow. 

Viktor gazed at Yuuri, feeling exhausted himself. 

“Thank you.”

Yurio laid down casually on his stomach, propping his face in his hands. He hummed, not saying anything.

“Will you teach me later?” Viktor turned to face him, a small smile on his face.

Yurio snorted and waved his legs in the air. 

“It’s not like I have anything else to do.” 

Viktor laughed lightly. 

“I’ll be looking forward to it!”

So that next time something like this happened, he could be proud and say to Yuuri, “I learned this for you.” 

And Yuuri would probably say something like, “You did?” 

And he would reply, “Of course!” 

Then he would lean down and kiss his nose, the both of them smiling.


	20. Chapter 20

It was early in the morning, not even dawn yet. 

Viktor had still come to the lake anyway, wanting to check in on Yuuri to see how he was doing. 

He tried to be quiet as he neared the forest, seeing the snow spirit sleeping. 

But it looked like most of the sickness had passed, and he let out a near silent breath of relief, shoulders relaxing from the stress he had been carrying. 

He crept closer and kneeled down next to Yuuri, eyes not leaving his face. 

He couldn’t really explain it. 

He was just so glad to see Yuuri again, that he was alright, even if he and Yurio had just taken care of him yesterday.

When Viktor had left this place yesterday, somewhere deep in the back of his mind had been tiny ‘what if’s’. 

What if Yuuri’s fever got worse? What if something went wrong? What if they had been too late in caring for him?

But they had all just been in the back of his head and he hadn’t even considered contemplating them.

“I was really worried, you know,” he whispered it out into the air, blue eyes fixed on Yuuri’s closed ones. 

He reached out and took his hand, gently holding it.

He felt a squeeze, and Yuuri’s grey eyes suddenly opened to meet his.

“Viktor? What are you doing here so early?” He blearily asked, still drowsy. 

The lack of an honorific to his name quietly thrilled him in the back of his mind, even if Yuuri didn’t seem to notice. 

“Why, Yuuri, your fair prince has come to keep you company this fair morning!” He smiled, putting on a little show. 

The snow spirit giggled, sitting up, now looking more awake. 

“And what would that make me?” His grey eyes were humoring. 

The goddess leapt up and struck a pose, pointing at the other. 

“You would be none other than the beautiful and magnificent dragon, under a curse from a jealous witch, trapped in the castle!” 

He spun around once, twice, then laid a hand upon his heart. 

“Fear not, my lovely one! For I am the prince of this kingdom, on a quest to reverse this curse and turn you back into the man you once were!” 

Yuuri snorted and started to laugh, holding his stomach. 

“And why are you on a quest to save me?” He asked, voice trembling from mirth. 

Viktor leaned down to pull him up and then swung him gently around. 

“Because many years ago at the royal ball, when you were still a man, we danced together and I fell deeply in love with you! I swore that one day, we would be married and rule the kingdom side by side.”

Yuuri collapsed in Viktor’s arms, tears coming leaking out of his eyes from laughter. 

He breathed heavily and looked up at the goddess. 

“Well, you have me now, my prince. What are you going to do?” He teased him, smiling prettily. 

Viktor spun the other and dipped him, leaning in and planting a sweet kiss on his lips. 

“Why, I’m going to cherish you, my love, for as long as you’ll have me.” He whispered it into Yuuri’s ears, and watched as red steadily crept up his lily skin. 

Yuuri reached for his hand and grabbed it between both of his, looking up at him with a playful smile.

“You have utterly bewitched me, my darling one. I suppose then, that I will never leave you now.” 

Viktor bent over the other’s hand, looking up for permission like he had when they first met, so long ago. 

Just like before, Yuuri nodded, and he kissed his hand. 

Looking up at the snow spirit, he grinned roguishly. 

“Dear heart, ours will be a union that never breaks, for it was created from love, the strongest power.”

He stood, and started leading Yuuri into a waltz. 

“A fairytale that went like that would be nice, huh?” 

Viktor smiled. 

“Though I think our reality is fine the way it is, wouldn’t you agree, Yuuri?” 

The snow spirit smiled, giggling behind his hand. 

“Yes, I do. After all, the Viktor-san here right now is the best.”

The goddess kissed his cheek chastely. 

“And my Yuuri is here as well. How could I ever ask for more?”

The both of them dropped down and fell into a heap on the snow, laughing and giggling, drunk on each other. 

When Yurio arrived a few minutes later, he took one look at them and then turned back and left, his face looking disgusted. 

_‘Why the hell do I know them, they’re so gross!’_ Their sugary sweet atmosphere sent shivers down his spine and he groaned. 

_‘This is why I never come in the morning, damn it.’_

Sometimes he really questioned his life’s choices and what had led him here.


	21. Chapter 21

It was raining. 

Just his luck.

Yuri, in his cat form, ran to shelter under a nearby building. 

His whiskers twitched and he hissed. 

Well, it appeared as if he wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

He curled up into a ball, hoping to preserve some warmth until the weather blew over.

_‘Looks like those two will just have to suffer without me today.’_ The rain was really pouring down. 

He closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep to the pitter patter of raindrops. 

His ears twitched and he blearily came awake, yawning before he paused. 

Something was curled up against his side.

His tail waved as he turned to see a fox had pillowed itself on his body, still asleep. 

He snarled in displeasure, trying in vain to get up from under it, its weight too much for this form.

Before he could claw the thing, it woke up and pounced, attaching itself to his body and rubbing up against him. 

His fur bristled and he hissed angrily. It would take forever to fix his fur now!

The fox barked at him, teeth bared in a smile as its paw bopped him on the nose.

_‘Did it just laugh at me!?’_

Yuri arched his back and swiped at it, claws out. 

But the fox simply picked him up by the nape of his neck and started carrying him off to who knows where. 

_‘How does something like this happen!?’_ He asked himself this as a kidnapping organized by a fox took place, with him as the victim.

To make matters worse, it was still raining.

_‘This day just can’t get any better,’_ he thought sarcastically, tail twitching in annoyance. 

The fox took him into a forest, then a cave. 

Inside were all sorts of things, ranging from blankets, books, games, clothes, and even what looked like junk food. 

_‘Don’t tell me this thing is…’_ All Yuri felt was dread.

His fears were proven correct when the fox dropped him gently on the floor, then transforming into a person.

What looked like a young boy appeared, a bright grin on his face. 

“So? Aren’t you going to change, too?” The boy had his hands on his hips, an excited gleam in his eyes.

Tch. It just figured that he would get kidnapped by the one spirit not afraid of him. 

_‘How annoying.’_ His ears flattened and he growled low in his throat. 

Like hell he was going to do what this little pest wanted!

They stared each other down, a vicious glare against a smile. 

The boy dramatically heaved a sigh, acting bothered. 

“Aw, don’t be like that! I just wanted to meet another spirit!” 

Here he kneeled down in front of Yuri, a more serious glint in his eyes now.

“Maybe I got a little carried away there, I’m sorry. It’s just been such a long time since I’ve met another spirit! So please!” He pressed his palms together and pouted cutely. 

_‘I don’t care about your stupid backstory, idiot!’_ The white cat hissed, annoyed. 

But this idiot didn’t seem to want to harm him, at least. It still pissed him off he got kidnapped because this pest got lonely, though! 

_‘Whatever. I can just punch his face in if he tries anything.’_ He was done with this whole situation, and just transformed.

The boy stood up and jumped up and down excitedly, grinning and clapping his hands as if he just did a trick.

“Wow! You’re so pretty! What’s your name?” Brown eyes looked as if they had sparkles in them as the boy blushed bright red.

Yuri scoffed and crossed his arms across his chest. 

“None of your business, idiot. Now let me leave.” 

The boy frowned and crossed his own arms. 

“No way! Not until you tell me your name!”

Yuri yelled and threw up his arms.

“Fine! It’s Yuri! Can I go now, you little pest!?” 

The boy grinned mischievously and came over and kissed him straight on the lips, too fast for him to react. 

Yuri’s face pinked. 

_‘That was my first kiss. And this loser stole it!?’_

“Now I’ll be able to find you! So go ahead and leave if you want.” The boy smirked playfully, amused.

“My name’s Minami, and I like you, Yuri! I’ll come visit you later!” 

The boy named Minami smiled and cheekily threw him a salute before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves. 

Yuri reached up to touch his lips, face unreadable. 

_‘A kitsune is on my trail, huh?’_

He yelled out in frustration and punched the ground, blowing out a breath.

He straightened up and glared at where the other had been just moments before.

“I’m going to punch your lights out the next time I see you, you stupid pest!” He shouted it to the world and then turned to leave.

Next time would be different, he swore.

_‘I’m going to crush you, kitsune, just you wait.’_

Yuri groaned, running his hands through his hair, aggravated.

At least it had stopped raining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minami just showed up out of nowhere and decided to stay! xD I can tell I'm going to have fun writing the dynamics between him and Yuri!


	22. Chapter 22

Yuri was lying out on the grass in a middle of a field in a forest, dozing lazily out under the sun.

He was taking the time to relax after an energetic afternoon spent with Viktor and Yuuri, those two always pulling him into something. 

Well, he didn’t hate it. He just wished that they would slow down sometimes. 

They pulled him into their pace way too easily, he mused, eyes closed. 

“Oh! So this is where you were!” 

He flinched, an eye opening as he took in the sight of that pest standing over him and smiling. 

He didn’t even feel like getting angry right now. 

_‘Maybe later.’_ He thought, turning over onto his back and laying his head on his arms.

“Go away. I’m trying to sleep.” 

The fox put his hands on his hips and flashed another bright smile down at him. 

“And I came all the way here, too! Oh well.” 

Yuri thought that was the end of it and the other had left when silence reigned for a few minutes. 

He was just starting to fall asleep when he felt the warm weight of that fox curl up on his chest, his tail tickling his nose. 

He opened his eyes, glaring. 

“Get off.” 

The fox just simply rubbed noses with him and then licked his cheek, curling up into a ball and not budging. 

Yuri breathed out, starting to get annoyed. 

What was with this brat? It had been a few days since he last saw him, so he had thought the other had forgotten about him. Kitsune were known to be fickle creatures, after all. Their whims changed on a dime.

But somehow, this one seemed a bit different. 

_‘He doesn’t feel the same.’_ Yuri thought to himself, squinting at the fox laying on his chest, as if he could parse out the mystery with just a look. 

From just that first encounter they had had, Yuri could tell. 

_‘It’s almost like… he’s lighter?’_ It was hard to discern, but it felt as if the other was more childish or innocent than the tricksters he had encountered in the past. 

But he didn’t feel young, either. The two of them seemed to be about the same age…

The fox had said he was lonely when they had met.

Yuri wondered. 

Was he an outcast as well? 

Still. How lonely did someone have to be to kidnap another person? 

Yuri grit his teeth and huffed. 

_‘Why am I even thinking about this pest?’_ How dare this fox make him curious!

He glared down at the lump of fluff on top of him. 

_‘This guy is really the worst.’_

Ugh! He’d had enough of thinking about this brat. It was time to sleep. 

He closed his eyes and relaxed, unconsciously breathing in and out in time with the fox. 

Just before he fell asleep, he thought begrudgingly to himself, _‘He’s warm.’_


	23. Chapter 23

It was a peaceful morning, the sun not even up yet.

He was just rolling around in the grass, occasionally pulling up flowers and making chains. 

He yelled out, jumping up and running to and fro. 

He suddenly stopped, hands on his hips, frowning. 

This wasn’t working. 

For some reason, all the things he usually did weren’t any fun today. 

He tapped a finger on his chin, pondering. 

“I know!” He shouted to no one, pumping his fists in the air. 

He could go and browse the stores! That always helped when he was feeling down. 

And so he set off, but it started raining before he even got there. 

_‘What bad luck.’_ He futilely put a hand over his head and started heading the other way to go back to his cave. 

Argh! He hated rain. It always made everything gloomy. 

He pouted and transformed into his fox form, quickly scampering to shelter. 

He stopped short as he stumbled upon a little white cat, asleep. 

It felt a little like…

He moved closer to sniff the other, excitedly barking a second later.

It was! 

_‘I’ve finally found someone else!’_

He moved over and curled up on and around the cat, almost enveloping it. 

It had been entirely too long since he had even seen another spirit, let alone talked to anyone. 

His tail twitched in joy as he smiled toothily. 

He wondered who they were, if they might be lonely like him. 

He really hoped they would be friends with him. 

Just imagining the things they could do together… It made him want to run and run and run and never stop. 

He didn’t want to go back to that cave he had made residence in for years and years…

_‘Please be real.’_ He curled tighter around them, as if protecting them from anything that might come by.

He didn’t mean to, but he fell asleep like that. 

And when the other woke up, things just started going wrong…

The white cat was angry, and he panicked. 

He wanted to say, “Please don’t leave.” 

But he couldn’t. He’d already made such a bad impression. 

So he just picked the other up by the nape of their neck and carried them to his cave. 

He didn’t want them to leave yet. 

He knew it was really bad, what he was doing, and he felt guilty. 

But he was selfish and lonely, and didn’t know what to do.

So Minami introduced himself, trying to be cheery, and a large part of him was. 

After all, this could be his first friend in what felt like forever. 

Eventually, the cat gave his name too. 

Minami could only stare and feel his heart start to race wildly. 

Yuri was really beautiful. 

He grinned, and kissed him, placing his scent on the other.

He felt drunk. 

Even after he had taken his leave, he was smiling. 

It was fine if the other hated him. 

He wasn’t alone anymore, and that was worth any price he had to pay.

Minami plopped onto a pile of leaves, covering his face as he softly smiled to himself. 

He was fine with being hated, as long as he could be around Yuri. 

After all, he had already fallen a little bit in love with him. 

The fox yelled out, clutching his heart as he blushed. 

_‘I can’t believe I kissed him!’_ But a part of him reveled in being Yuri’s first, and having his scent on him.

This crush of his was going to be trouble, he just knew it. 

Still, he sighed contently and grinned, staring off into the distance.

_‘You and me are going to be friends, Yuri, just you wait!’_

Minami was a fox.

He knew how a chase went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minami is very interesting to write! I feel like he's more ruled by emotions and instincts rather than anything else, if that makes sense? Either way, I look forward to writing more of him! :P


	24. Chapter 24

“Yuri!” Minami exclaimed, waving to the other as he ran up. 

Yuri huffed, scowling as he crossed his arms. It was no use trying to leave. That damn fox would always find him sooner or later.

“What?” He snapped out, glaring. 

Here the other blushed and glanced off to the side nervously.

“I’m… not sure. I just saw you and got excited.” 

He face palmed, exasperated. 

_‘This idiot.’_

They had run into each other a few more times, but Yuri would never get used to how enthusiastic the fox was, or how inexperienced he was in terms of social interaction. 

He still got ticked off when he remembered their first meeting, where this idiot both kidnapped and kissed him, all in one morning. 

But much to his reluctance, they were slowly getting use to each other. 

It pissed him off that he was getting less and less angry whenever the other showed up. 

They were starting to become… something, and he wanted no part of it. 

He didn’t need any more friends. Two were plenty. 

He especially didn’t need to find the stupid fox’s pouting kind of cute, or notice how fake his smiles sometimes seemed. 

His emotions felt split in opposite directions whenever this guy came around. 

A very small part of him was curious, intrigued. He felt a tug to just go along with it all, whatever this was.

Mostly, he was trying to hold on to his anger, hoping to drive the other off, to not get attached.

Somewhere in the back of his head, he felt… uncertain. Vulnerable. 

And he didn’t know why, and that made him want to snarl and shout at this damned kitsune, “Stop making me feel this way!” 

But of course he didn’t. He just tried his best to ignore the other, though he never got very far. Somehow, the fox always drew him into a conversation. 

“You’re an idiot.” He bit out, not even knowing why he was still talking.

Minami laughed, and turned to him with a grin.

“Yeah, maybe.” 

Yuri frowned and turned to leave, the other not following. 

Before he was out of earshot, he shot one last irritated remark at the fox.

“Stop smiling all the damn time! It’s annoying!” 

The kitsune’s smiles somehow looked forced, even if he seemed genuinely happy, is what he was beginning to notice. 

Yuri sneered to himself. 

What did he care? It was no problem of his. 

He strode off briskly, shoulders stiff. 

He was already in a bad mood, and it wasn’t even evening yet.


	25. Chapter 25

“Why is Yurio in such a bad mood?” Yuuri asked, eyes fixed on said topic of conversation. 

He was scowling, sitting over in the snow by a tree a little ways away. Lately when he came by to visit, he didn’t participate as much and was always frowning. 

Viktor sighed, tilting his head. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen him like this before.” 

The snow spirit frowned. “Is there any way we could help?” 

Viktor’s blue eyes faced him. 

“I don’t know, but Yuri has always tried to keep his problems to himself. He won’t accept someone else’s help easily, I’m afraid.” 

The goddess turned back to look at the cat pensively, frowning. 

“If he has one fault, it would be his pride.” 

Yuuri chewed on his lower lip, worried. 

“Still, there has to be something we can do…” 

Blue eyes locked onto his grey ones as the other slowly started to smile. 

“Maybe there is.” 

The snow spirit brightened, leaning in curiously. 

Viktor grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the direction of Yurio. 

Even though he had no idea what they were going to do or how it would help, he trusted that Viktor knew what he was doing. 

They stopped directly in front of Yurio, and Viktor grinned and pointed at him dramatically. 

“Yuri! Let’s go!” 

The cat glared at them, a nasty expression on his face. 

But the goddess was having none of it, and simply yanked the other up off the ground before he could do anything, disappearing into thin air with the two of them soon after. 

“And we’re here!” Viktor spread his arms out, letting go of them. 

They appeared to be in a gym of some sort, though not any kind Yuuri had ever been in before. 

Yurio appeared confused as well. 

“Huh? Why the hell’d you bring me here, Viktor?” He had almost snarled the question, and Yuuri frowned. 

What had made Yurio so angry? It had only started very recently, a week or two ago at most. Sometimes he had even skipped visiting them for a couple days in a row, which always made him worried. 

And when he did show up, he never skated with them anymore. He just went over to a tree and either sat down and kept to himself or started sleeping. 

Sometimes, when Yuuri had looked over at him, he had seemed scared. 

Of what, Yuuri didn’t know, but it made his heart ache all the same. 

Yurio was their precious friend, and seeing him like this was painful. 

He hoped that this place, whatever it was, could help somewhat. 

_‘After all, Viktor-san knows Yurio-kun better than anybody else.’_

“This is a parkour gym, Yurio! At these hours, no one else is here! So feel free to go wild!” The goddess smiled and pushed him away from them. 

“We’ll just take our leave now, I suppose!” And with that, he grabbed onto Yuuri’s arm and gently led him out of the gym into the cool air outside.

The snow spirit worriedly looked back, fidgeting. 

“He’s the type that has to figure things out for himself, hmm? Well, I gave him a push!” Viktor lightly laughed, seeming no longer worried. 

“Don’t worry, Yuuri. He’s strong. He’ll figure things out.” Blue eyes smiled. 

Yuuri smiled too, taking the other’s hand in his. 

_‘Viktor-san has a lot of faith in Yurio-kun.’_

He turned away from the gym and instead towards the starless night sky. 

_‘I’ll put my faith in him as well!’_

As a warm sensation spread throughout his body, he had the feeling that everything would be alright, as long as the three of them were together. 

Viktor pulled him in for a gentle hug, and it felt like the comfort of being buried in blankets. 

“We’ll be here for him, no matter what! Right?” 

Yuuri hugged him back, softly smiling. 

“Of course.” 

They pulled back and just stared at each other, beaming. 

Even if they didn’t know what had happened, or why Yurio was in such a bad mood, that didn’t matter. Yurio wasn’t alone, and didn’t have to be. 

Yuuri and Viktor would be right here, next to him, for as long as it took until he realized.


	26. Chapter 26

Yuri ran, and jumped and exhausted himself here in this gym for what felt like hours. 

At first, he was aggressive, but as time went on, his movements became more focused and calm. 

It felt like he had burned all the anger out of himself, just by burning himself out. 

It felt good, he had to admit. 

And it also made him look back on everything. 

He’d been such an idiot, hadn’t he? He was actually a bit embarrassed. 

He owed Yuuri and Viktor an apology. 

As for Minami… 

This whole time, he’d been scared. He could admit that to himself now. 

Scared of change, of the feelings the other brought out in him, of getting attached…

And so he’d been angry. At himself and at Minami. 

But being defensive had never stopped the fox from wanting to befriend him, and it was only now that he realized that he wanted to be friends, too. 

Right here, with only himself, he could freely admit that he’d been intrigued by Minami from their very first meeting. 

He’d just held himself back, afraid. 

_‘Fuck that.’_ Yuri thought, not scared anymore. 

Being scared just meant that there was something in him going, “This is a risk. I’m a warning.”

He’d been heeding that warning, but honestly…

That wasn’t like him at all. 

What was life without its danger? Its risks? 

Having a lot to lose only meant having so much more to gain, and Yuri decided right then and there that he would take the gain.

He was going to fall headfirst into Minami’s atmosphere, and the fox wouldn’t know what hit him. 

Yuri quietly laughed, the sound almost a whisper. 

He was doomed from the start, wasn’t he? It was kind of funny, now. 

It was as if a red thread tied him and Minami together, never able to be broken no matter how tangled it got. 

And while a thought like that would have annoyed him before, right now he only felt anticipation. 

He clenched his fists, grinning wildly to himself. 

His heart felt like it was beating out of his chest, and he ran and ran and ran but never tired. 

Panting, with sweat running down his forehead, he leaned against a wall and just laughed. 

He was so excited, and it was all because of Minami, which just figured. 

He felt like he could do anything right now, and he would succeed. 

And so he went outside to find Viktor and Yuuri, and apologized, head bowed and ears red. 

A hand ruffled his hair, and he looked up to see the both of them smiling at him, and right away he knew he was forgiven. 

“Thank you,” he blurted out, a bit awkward, and he flailed in embarrassment in his head.

But Viktor and Yuuri looked so proud for him that he couldn’t regret saying it. 

He was so grateful to have met these two, he realized. 

He surged forward and trapped both of them into a tight hug, not that they wanted to escape. 

They hugged back, and like this, they couldn’t see how watery his eyes were.

Tonight had been emotional enough for a month, for him. And yet, he wouldn’t change a thing about it.

They pulled out of the hug after a while, but then stopped and stared at him with widened eyes.

Yuri smiled at them, and laughed. 

“What are you two staring at, huh? Let’s go.” And he huffed and grabbed their hands to lead them back home.  
They were a family, he thought, and didn’t give a damn how sappy it sounded. 

Tonight, he could be honest. 

Tomorrow, he would meet with Minami and grab his hand and say, “We’re friends now.”

He was embarrassed at the thought, but at the same time he looked forward to how the fox would react.

He wondered what Viktor and Yuuri would think of Minami, and smirked. 

He’d find out sooner or later, he supposed. 

Right now, he just wanted to hold onto them, and so he did, their hands never letting go of his.

_‘These two have infected me with their sweetness.’_ He groaned in the back of his mind, exasperated. 

This was a one time thing, he promised himself. Only for tonight, he swore.

He already knew he would be proven wrong later, and sighed, resigned to these idiots and their happiness that enveloped even someone like him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to bump up the rating to a T, all because of Yuri's cursing, haha! xD Yuri has such a vulgar mouth, I despair.


	27. Chapter 27

It had taken awhile to track that fox down, but he had done it. Now, all he had to do was walk up and… ask to be friends, no matter how embarrassing it was. 

He’d made this mess. Now it was time to fix it. 

Yuri took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Just why was he so nervous, anyways? It wasn’t like this was rocket science or something. 

He supposed that the other would always bring out these kinds of feelings in him, which wasn’t exactly bad. He just had to have time to get used to it, is all. 

He schooled his face into something more neutral before walking over to where the kitsune was. 

It was time to plunge right into a bottomless ocean with no air tank. 

Before he could let himself drown, he reached out and grabbed the other’s hand, making him turn around with shocked eyes to face him. 

“Hey,” he gritted out, sounding pissed off but feeling restless. 

“Yuri..?” Minami quietly asked, confused. 

He clenched his fists. 

“You really are something else, huh?” 

Before the fox could even begin to open his mouth, Yuri just continued talking. 

“When I first saw you, you really pissed me off. You’re annoying and a real idiot.” 

He tightened his hold on the kitsune’s hand. 

He had no idea what he was saying, really, but it felt good to say it. 

He supposed he was venting, a little. 

“You make me confused. What do you even see in someone like me?” 

Yuri scowled and broke their hands apart, gesturing animatedly now. 

“You kept coming back, kept smiling that damn fake smile, wouldn’t take no for an answer!”

Here he paused, slowing down and scowl receding. 

He looked straight at the fox, eyes boring into him. 

“I’m excited right now. Because of you. Because somehow, you made me like you.” 

Minami was standing stock still, not moving an inch as he just stared. 

Yuri moved right up to him, chest to chest as he glared fiercely. 

“I’m going to know everything about you by the time I’m through with you. We’re going to be friends, got it?” His tone was quiet but aggressive, almost threatening. 

He stepped back and smirked, tilting his head. 

“Minami,” was all he said, sounding teasing. 

The kitsune blushed bright red, looking at a loss as to how to react. 

The other looked down briefly then back up, visibly coming back to himself. 

“Really?” he asked quietly, almost a whisper, sounding equal parts vulnerable and hopeful. 

Yuri put a hand on his hip, not looking away from him.

“Of course. I never go back on my word.” 

Here he shot a small smile at the kitsune, not even seeming to realize he was doing it. 

“And that was a promise.” 

Minami smiled softly, the most genuine expression Yuri had ever seen him make. 

“How blessed I am to have found you. It must be fate.” And tears started to slip down his face as he became overwhelmed, joy seeming to exude from his very being. 

Flowers started to bloom around them, gardenias, lilacs, hydrangeas, too many to name. 

Yuri could admit that they were beautiful, as little vines playfully curled near his feet. 

“Fate, huh?” He laughed lightly and once again grabbed Minami’s hand, this time to pull him down to sit with him amongst the flowers. 

“You know, I can almost see a red thread tying us together.” 

He turned away to hide his smile. 

Minami gasped, starts in his eyes as he grinned. 

“Really? Wow! I want to see, too!” And he leaned in and squinted at his hands, tongue sticking out from concentration. 

Yuri froze, before his lips slowly turned up into a grin and he burst out laughing at the sight of the other’s hand almost covering his face it was so close. 

“You’re such an idiot!” He gasped out, folding in on himself and holding his stomach. 

Minami pouted, unable to hide his smile. 

“You’re so mean, Yuri! How could you injure my poor, fragile heart like this?” 

He smirked. 

“It’s not my fault you’re such an easy target.”

The fox’s eyes glistened mischievously, a playful grin appearing as he pounced on Yuri, furiously tickling him. 

“Who’s an easy target now?” 

Laughter rang out through the clearing where multitudes of flowers had bloomed, a gentle breeze caressing the petals. 

_‘I’m never getting rid of him now, am I?’_ Yuri asked himself, smirking as Minami kept trying and failing to make a flower crown. 

But he found that he didn’t mind the thought so much. 

“Here,” he said, dropping a flower crown right onto the fox’s head. 

Minami picked it up and yelled from excitement, and Yuri could almost see hearts coming out of his eyes.

_‘I guess I could be stuck with worse.’_

He sighed and laid his head down on the grass, closing his eyes, beginning to fall asleep.

Minami noticeably became quieter and began to comb fingers though Yuri’s hair. 

He turned over and draped himself over the other, content. 

“You’re warm,” he said, right before falling asleep. 

Minami smiled and started to braid little pink roses into Yuri’s hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are the meanings for the flowers in order of appearance, if anyone's interested! :)
> 
> Gardenias - purity, sweetness, joy, secret love
> 
> In this case, I went with purple lilacs which mean first love! 
> 
> Hydrangeas - heartfelt emotions and gratitude
> 
> And finally, I went with a light pink rose, which conveys gentleness and admiration. Minami is very romantic, I've gotta say! xD


	28. Chapter 28

“You look so pretty, Yuri!” Minami exclaimed, stars for eyes as he braided flowers in the other’s hair.

The cat just grumbled, closing his eyes and relaxing. 

“Why do you like flowers so much?” Yuri quietly asked, almost dozing in the peaceful atmosphere they had created. 

Minami hummed and smiled, gently twirling the stim of a daisy in his hand. 

“I can feel them growing. It’s soothing. It’s almost like having a bunch of little clouds in my head!” 

The cat cracked an eye open and snorted at him. 

Minami pouted. 

“It really does feel like that, you know!” 

Yuri huffed, blowing out a breath. “That I don’t doubt. Just the way you describe things… Your head must be an interesting place.” 

He blinked.

“Really? But I think you’re much more interesting, Yuri!” 

The cat smirked.

“Trust me, I’m not.” 

Minami didn’t say anything, and the other eventually fell into a doze, content and sleepy. 

_‘You’re wrong, Yuri.’_

He smiled to himself as he wove little orange roses into pale blond hair, gently running his fingers through strands of hair as he went. 

It might not have looked the best, but whatever! This was a message from him to Yuri, even if the other didn’t know how to read flowers. 

He added bluebells and daffodils as well, and by this point Yuri’s hair was flooded with flowers and looked very odd.

He giggled, just imagining what the cat would say when he eventually saw it. 

He hesitated for a while, but eventually he added in a few sakura, the pale pink petals almost unnoticeable amongst all the other blooms. 

To anyone else, Yuri would have looked ridiculous. 

But to him, all he saw was a message, one that was gentle and whisper-sweet in its insistence to be heard. 

_‘You really are beautiful, no matter how many times I look.’_ He thought to himself, just gazing at the other and humming with the wind. 

It was a bit funny that a fox had been bewitched by a cat, and not the other way around. 

But Yuri is too kind for his own good, Minami mused, resting his head in a palm. 

Someone else might have argued that point, saying how the other was bad tempered and sometimes cold.

But he was still continuously in awe of how Yuri had just marched up to him, that one day, and told him, “We’re going to be friends.”

Minami had seen how nervous he had been, even if he had tried his best to hide it. 

And he had seen how Yuri had looked sometimes, vulnerable and angry, with both himself and Minami.

Yuri didn’t look like that anymore, not since they’d become friends. 

And he really wanted to hug Yuri for it, to somehow find a way to express how amazing he was to him.

_‘Yuri is so strong.’_ He marveled at that strength, at being able to struggle with yourself and win. 

Minami smiled, and transformed into a fox, curling up against the other’s side. 

The sweet smell and feeling of the flowers was quickly making him fall asleep. 

His tail twitched and he closed his eyes. 

_‘I won’t lose to you, Yuri.’_

He’d try his best too, because even if he failed, he could just laugh it off and try and try and try again. 

One of those ‘try’s was bound to become something eventually. 

It was just a matter of persistence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, these two always end up falling asleep around each other! xD
> 
> Flower meanings! 
> 
> Orange roses - fascination, enthusiasm, passion.
> 
> Bluebells - gratitude, constancy. 
> 
> Daffodils - respect, return my affections, new beginnings
> 
> And finally, sakura petals have a meaning of gentleness and kindness! :)


	29. Chapter 29

“Oh! You look very cute, Yurio!” Viktor exclaimed, surprised as he took in the sight of a flower crown on the other’s head as he arrived.

Yurio huffed, cocking a hip. 

“I’m not cute, Viktor. I’m beautiful.” And saying that, he tilted his head and smirked, confidant. 

“Ah, Yurio-kun seems fired up today,” Yuuri remarked, smiling. 

The goddess put his hands on his hips, a thoughtful look appearing on his face. 

“Where did he even get something like that? Did he make it himself, I wonder?” 

The question was soon answered when the other approached them and slyly gazed at them, looking a bit smug. 

“Minami made it for me.” He said it nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal or he was just discussing the weather. 

Viktor pouted, a put out expression on his face. 

“Who’s Minami? And why haven’t we heard anything about them?” 

Yurio shrugged. 

“Minami’s my friend. There, now you know.” And after dropping that on them, he went over to the lake and started warming up, a focused and excited gleam in his eyes.

Yuuri sweat dropped, watching as Viktor dropped to the ground and started muttering to himself, “Where did we go wrong, Yuuri? Why has our child not informed us of this development? Is this what I’ve heard called a ‘rebellious phase’?”

The snow spirit rolled his eyes at the dramatics, leaning down to pick the other up. 

“Viktor, you’re ridiculous. We’ll meet Yurio-kun’s friend soon enough, I imagine.” 

The goddess looked at him with widened blue eyes, a light blush working its way up his face slowly.

He almost stepped back, startled. 

What? What did he do? 

He replayed the conversation in his mind, and was still confused.

He did it once more, just to be sure, and almost died of blood rushing to his cheeks as he understood. 

He started waving his arms in front of himself, trying to escape the other’s gaze to no avail.

Words wouldn’t even come out of his mouth, he was so flustered. 

_‘It’s not like Viktor’s any better!’_

The goddess still looked shocked, just staring at him in wonder, not seeming to be able to talk either.

Yuuri tried to calm down, closing his eyes and breathing in and out slowly. His heart rate slowed down gradually, and he opened his grey eyes once more.

“Viktor.” He muttered quietly, still embarrassed hearing himself say it. 

The goddess’s blush got even worse, now crawling up his ears. 

Yuuri stepped closer and closer, until he was chest to chest with the other.

“Viktor.” He said, louder now. 

He was met with the sight of a goddess trying to hide his face in his arms, embarrassed too. 

But he gently grabbed those arms and pulled them away, only to envelop the other in a half hug, using his other hand to palm Viktor’s cheek.

They were face to face, eye to eye, and were both visibly red. 

“Do you not want me to say it anymore?” He asked, pretty sure that wasn’t the case, but communication was important. 

He wanted to be sure. 

Viktor stammered, before he yelled out a big, “No!”

“I mean, don’t stop, I actually like it, it’s just that my heart, Yuuri, my heart!” 

Yuuri pressed his hand against the other’s heart, and felt a very fast, very excited beat. 

He smiled, and took the other’s hand to press against his chest as well.

“My heart, Viktor, my heart.” 

Viktor smiled then too, looking overjoyed and giddy, still flushed red.

“You’re my heart, Yuuri.” He said, tilting his head slightly and grinning.

Yuuri burst out laughing, caught off guard by the sudden pun. 

“That was terrible! It was so bad! Why am I laughing?” 

The goddess laughed along with him, flashing him a cheeky wink, which only made him laugh harder.

“You’re horrible, Viktor!” He gasped out, tears running down his cheeks as his face started to hurt from smiling so much. 

The other just grinned at him, clearly enjoying his suffering. 

“I will get you,” he managed to breathe out, clutching his stomach. 

Viktor leaned down and pulled him up, looking amused.

“I look forward to it.” 

He rested his head on the other’s shoulder as they just stood and basked in the chilly winter air.

“You better.” He muttered somewhere into Viktor’s neck, closing his eyes and relaxing into his warmth.


	30. Chapter 30

“Yuri!” He screamed, raw terror in his voice as his hand reached out, trembling.

Yuri reached out as well, and grasped his hand. 

But before he could pull the other up, Yuri’s grip went slack and he was left holding onto nothing, left to stand there and watch as his friend fell and fell and fell.

“Yuri! Yuri!” He screeched, tears drenching his skin.

Yuri’s expression as he plummeted was one terrified, and he stood frozen, unable to even try and jump in after him, paralyzed by his own fear. 

Minami burst awake suddenly, sweat sticking to his body as he sat up.

He frantically looked around, before he realized that it had all been a dream.

He panted, shakily drawing breath and putting a hand to his heart, feeling it race. 

_‘It was just a dream.’_ He kept repeating this to himself, over and over.

He was too shaken up to even think about going back to sleep right now, so instead he made his way outside.

The cold night air and the calming sight of the moon were balms to his anxiety, and he breathed in and out slowly as he sat down on the ground cross legged. 

He grabbed fistfuls of the grass, just for something to hold onto. 

Minami tilted his face up to the moon and just breathed, tension slowly relaxing from his body. 

For once, it felt good to be the only one here. 

To be alone, in this moment, was wonderful, which Minami couldn’t wrap his head around. 

_‘How weird,’_ he thought, confused. 

But he decided to not pay it much mind, and focused on just breathing in and out, again and again. 

Even after he had calmed down, he still continued for a while. 

Finally, when he felt like he was maybe back to his usual self, he got up and stretched, muscles a bit sore from sitting for so long.

“Ah.” He breathed out, not content but at ease now. 

He didn’t exactly feel like going back inside his cave right now, and certainly didn’t feel like falling asleep any time soon. 

He smiled, and snapped his fingers as an idea came to him. 

He started to dance, something slow and flowing instead of his usual high energy. 

It felt amazing to just dance, and not think about anything at all. 

It was pure movement, just losing yourself in a silent performance. 

This dance, with its graceful motions and unhurried pace, felt unusually freeing to him. 

Minami smiled, and turned.

Oddly enough, the music in his head was cheerful and fast, not matching the dance at all. 

But it made him laugh when he thought about it, so he kept it. 

He lost track of time as he danced, but it felt like morning would never come, as if he were inside a bubble.

Panting, he wiped sweat off of his forehead and grinned to himself. 

Now he was tired, but didn’t feel sleepy at all. In fact, he felt great! 

But it was too early to go visit Yuri, and he pouted, disappointed. 

“Oh well!” He said, laughing a little.

He was getting hungry anyways. 

_‘Time to eat!’_ His eyes gleamed in the early morning darkness as he rushed inside his cave, on the hunt for food. 

Nightmares weren’t so scary in the face of imagining what Yuri would do to him if he woke him up!

Minami giggled, and decided that he might do it anyways, if only to see Yuri’s surprised face before he started to scowl. 

He tried to imitate the other’s angry face, scrunching his eyebrows and puffing out his cheeks. 

He ruined it when he started to smile, knowing he looked ridiculous. 

_‘Yuri’s the best at being all grumpy, after all!’_

Minami wondered if Yuri would help him win second place, on account of first place having been taken from the get-go. 

He put a hand to his chin, pondering. 

Probably not. Yuri seemed like someone who was very competitive. 

_‘I’ll just have to take notes, then!’_ Minami laughed over the silliness of this whole train of thought, endlessly amused by it. 

_‘Just you wait, Yuri! I’ll steal first place right from under your nose if you’re not careful!’_ He posed dramatically, pointing his finger at an imaginary Yuri.

It was fun to imagine what the other’s response would be to all of this.

But in a few hours, he wouldn’t have to wonder!

_‘I can’t wait to see you!’_ Minami grinned and glanced outside to see that it wasn’t even dawn yet.

He deflated, sweat dropping as he fell to the ground and groaned.

_‘It might be a little while longer, Yuri.'_


	31. Chapter 31

“Yuri! Yuri! Guess what I found?” Minami bounced in front of him, grinning from ear to ear. 

He leveled an unimpressed look at the fox. 

“What?” 

The other crouched down near where he was laying, looking entirely too excited for this time of day. 

“A game! Doesn’t it look cool?” Saying that, Minami pulled out some kind of board game from seemingly nowhere, shoving it in his face. 

He glared, pushing it back as he sat up, already knowing where this was going. 

“Just set it up.” 

The kitsune pumped a fist in the air, smiling excitedly. 

It took a few tries, but the game was finally set up, the board laid out over the grass. They’d had a brief but intense argument over who got to play as the cat token, Yuri eventually winning after he’d flipped over the board in irritation, saying, “Do you want me to play or not?” 

Minami had pouted, but quickly acquiesced and instead picked the next best thing, that being the top hat. 

The both of them placed their tokens on go, now ready to play.

Thus, a fierce game of monopoly started. 

“I swear, if I land on Boardwalk one more time…” Yuri grumbled, gritting his teeth as he threw the dice.   
They came to a stop, one landing on one and the other on five. 

“How the fuck! That’s the fifth time! This game is rigged!” Yuri yelled angrily, throwing his hands up before begrudgingly moving his token and paying Minami rent. 

The kitsune was laughing as he collected his money, shooting a teasing look at him. 

“I think you’re just really bad at monopoly, Yuri.” Here he smiled, as if somehow that made his statement better. 

Yuri let loose a frustrated noise, scowling as he clenched his fists. 

“Just you wait, fox. I’m going to win this stupid game.” 

They played, and he lost. Badly. 

“Damn it! I almost had you!” He flipped over the board again, raging. 

Minami looked at his winnings, then back over to Yuri’s few scraps of paper, looking like he was trying not to bust out laughing. 

“Sure did,” The fox said, voice quivering as his smile wavered, trying his best not to giggle.

He crossed his arms, sulking. 

“Whatever. Next time we’re playing an actual good game, one that doesn’t put me on Boardwalk every time.” 

Minami moved over and sat next to him, putting an arm around him in a half-hug. 

“You’ll win next time, I’m sure of it!” 

He scoffed, unconsciously leaning into the other’s warmth. 

“Of course I will! You just got lucky this time.” 

The fox quietly laughed, voice warm like a summer’s breeze. 

“Hey, Yuri.” 

He turned, glancing at the fox questioningly. 

Minami looked at him fondly, smiling brightly. 

“Let’s have fun tomorrow, too, okay?” 

Yuri smirked, grabbing the other’s hand and linking their pinkies.

“Yeah. It’s a promise.” 

The kitsune lit up and enveloped him in a hug, squeezing him tightly and almost picking him up he was so enthused. 

He huffed, rolling his eyes. 

“You always get too excited, you know?” 

He put his hand on the other’s head, briefly running fingers through hair before dropping down to teasingly poke his nose.

“You’re a real handful, Minami.” Saying that, he smiled slightly, linking their hands and pulling the other along somewhere. 

“What? It’s not my fault you make me happy!” The fox pouted cutely. 

“Do you have no filter?” He asked, a bit amazed but mostly embarrassed, a blush making its way up his face. 

“Wait! Where are we going?” Minami completely ignored his question, looking confused. 

He turned to look at the other, smirking. 

“I’m hungry. You’re going to get me some food.” 

The fox put a hand on his hip, squinting at him. 

“Yuri’s bossy when he loses.”

Before he could even respond, he felt a light touch behind his ear, and his fingers found a flower tucked behind it.

“That’s fine. You’re cute like that, after all.” 

Minami smiled slyly at him, eyes gleaming. 

His face flushed bright red, his eyes wide in surprise. 

He felt weird. A bubbly feeling was in his stomach. 

Yuri turned his face away and yanked the other along once more, glaring. 

“You idiot,” he muttered, heart beating fast.

He felt Minami squeeze his hand lightly, but he kept his eyes forward, not daring to look the other in the face. 

His cheeks burned the whole way there.


	32. Chapter 32

“Isn’t the snow beautiful?” Yuuri asked, looking almost childish in his excitement as he spun around, smile on his face.

“It is, but to me, you’re much more beautiful to see.” Viktor grinned, sneaking up from behind and capturing the snow spirit in a hug.

Yuuri lightly laughed, leaning into the embrace, resting his hands on the ones on his stomach. 

“Is that so?” He mischievously sent a few snowflakes to land on Viktor’s nose, making the other sneeze.

“Ah! Yuuri is cruel!” The goddess broke the hug, whirling around to pout, arms crossed.

He smiled fondly, going up to the other and taking his hand to press a kiss to it. 

Viktor turned, smile already back to being on his face. 

“You know I can’t resist you, Yuuri.” His bright blue eyes were shining as he grabbed the snow spirit’s chin and tilted it up. 

He softly smiled, expression warm as he leaned up.

“Then don’t even try.” 

They kissed, a brief and light press of the lips before they broke apart and just rested on each other, content to do nothing for the moment. 

“Isn’t Christmas coming up?” Viktor asked, voice curious. 

His eyes widened in surprise for a few seconds. 

“I’d almost forgotten! It’s only a few weeks away!” The snow spirit smiled at the other. 

“Did you know that in Japan, Christmas Eve is a day for couples to spend together?” 

The goddess lip up excitedly.

“Really? Wow! How fascinating!” 

Yuuri giggled and took the other’s hands in his, looking him straight in the face.

“Would you like to spend it with me? As partners?” He smiled, squeezing the goddess’s hands tightly, nervously.

He had really just gone ahead and confessed, right there. And so bluntly, too! But it had just come out of his mouth, with no care for what his brain said. 

He didn’t think he’d be rejected, but it was still nerve wracking. 

“I really like you, Viktor.” He just blurted it out, closing his eyes like a coward so he wouldn’t see the other’s expression.

A few seconds went by in silence, and internally he was screaming at himself how this was a bad idea, how could he have ruined something like this, did Viktor not return his feelings after all, on and on and on it went.

Until everything within him just stopped.

All from two hands cupping his cheeks. 

“Yuuri.”

He opened his eyes.

“How could you ever think I would say no? The answer will always be yes, my silly Yuuri.” And Viktor looked overjoyed, happiness emanating from his very being, eyes glistening as he wrapped the snow spirit in the tightest, snuggest hug he’d ever experienced. 

He started to tear up as well, laughing through his smile, hugging back fiercely. 

“Sorry. I was just nervous.” 

Viktor’s hand came up to poke his cheek, lightly scolding.

“You don’t have to be, anymore. I’m here for you.” 

Yuuri beamed and planted a chaste kiss on the other’s forehead.

“Right! I’m here for you, too!” 

A young couple curled up with each other on the ground and spent the night stargazing, loudly laughing and enjoying life all the while. 

They eventually fell asleep, smiles on their faces, hands intertwined. 

And when they woke the next day, they each said, “Good morning!” and shared a kiss under the cover of the early hour’s darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, these dorks are officially together! The romantic tension had been killing me! xD


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Episode ten killed me. It was too good. xD

_‘You can do this, Yuuri!’_ He thought to himself, nervous but excited at the same time, looking at himself in the reflection of the lake as he applied his makeup. 

Viktor had asked him on a date, and before he could even ask where they were going, the goddess had smiled and said, “Great! I’ll pick you up at dusk!” before taking his leave. 

Yuuri didn’t even know what to wear, or what they were going to do! 

So he’d improvised, and gone shopping, promising to somehow pay back the owners. 

His stomach had been in a knot the whole time, and it had felt like he would never find the perfect outfit. 

He had almost given up, before he stumbled upon it. 

An elegant black ballroom dress, white crystals crawling up the right side. 

The moment he saw it, he immediately fell in love. This. This was his outfit. 

He’d never shopped for a dress before, so figuring out his size was a bit tricky. It was a good thing he was a little on the leaner side.

But he’d eventually found a size that fit him, and he’d almost died at seeing the price tag. 

It had felt a little like his soul leaving his body, seeing all those zeros. 

But he had no way to pay, except for saying a prayer of good fortune and blessings to the shop. It wasn’t much, and he’d have to find a way to repay them later. 

_‘I really hope I’m not too overdressed!’_ He bit his lip, looking at his reflection and worrying. 

It was just that this was their first date, the only first date he’d ever been on. 

It felt too special to wear anything other than this dress. 

_‘I look… beautiful.’_ And he felt it too, seeing someone reflected back that he’d never seen before. 

Yuuri smiled, relaxing, and decided to stop worrying and just enjoy himself tonight, wherever it may take the two of them. 

What was he nervous for? He was going with Viktor, after all. 

_‘I’m going to be at my best for him!’_ He put his worries to the back of his mind and cocked a hip, smirking. 

The least he could do is be confidant in himself, in the person Viktor chose. 

_‘That’s right, Viktor chose me.’_ He kneeled down and picked up the glittery eyeshadow he’d picked out what felt like so long ago, and started applying it. 

_‘And I chose him.’_ So he’d throw away his hesitation and have fun, on their very first date. 

He picked up the one final thing that tied his whole outfit together, arguably the most important aspect. 

A tube of bright red lipstick. 

He’d planned on wearing this from the start, and staring at himself after he put it on, he slyly smiled. 

Right now, he was beautiful enough to seduce even a goddess. 

_‘I’ll make sure that Viktor won’t be able to look away from me tonight.’_

Stepping away from the lake, he moved over to where they always met every morning, being careful not to trip in his heels. 

Looking at the sky, there wasn’t much time left until their date would begin. 

_‘It’s not polite to keep your lover waiting, Viktor.’_ He thought, smiling nonetheless. 

Knowing the other, he’d probably had some last minute thing to do, or had gotten too wrapped up in setting up everything. 

Yuuri laughed, a hand over his mouth. 

He didn’t mind. He’d wait here until the goddess got here, and then he’d tease the other about it. 

_‘Just don’t make me wait too long.’_ He smiled, sighing contently. 

All he felt was a giddy anticipation for what the night had in store.


	34. Chapter 34

“Yuuri!” Viktor yelled out, waving his arm and grinning as he approached, before stopping in place.

Pink crept up his face, and his eyes widened before a soft smile appeared. 

“You’re beautiful, as always.” 

Yuuri sweetly smiled as well, a blush of his own traveling to his cheeks.

“You are, too.” 

And he was, dressed in a gorgeous blouse with lace running here and there, his black as sin dress pants completing the outfit. 

He had even styled his hair, smoothing it back, along with applying what smelled like a flowery perfume.

_‘He looks ethereal.’_ Yuuri thought, as the both of them just stood there staring at each other, captivated.

Eventually their spell was broken, and Viktor grinned as he grabbed his arm. 

“Shall we?” 

He grinned back, nodding. He felt as if he were floating, or about to fall, but in a good way. 

“Lead the way,” he said playfully, squeezing the other’s arm.

He was ready to be dazzled, to be swept away, to fall, only to find himself caught and do it all over again tonight.

The goddess let a laugh fall out before sweeping him up in an embrace, a cool breeze the only thing left behind as they departed. 

“And here we are.” Viktor intoned quietly, eyes warm as he spread his arms out in gesture.

“A garden I’ve liked to visit for centuries now, one that never fails to calm me.” 

Yuuri gazed around at all the flowers, small lakes and benches. It all looked very peaceful and inviting, yet extravagant and elegant at the same time.

He could see why this place was a favorite of Viktor’s. 

“Thank you for bringing me here.” He said, grabbing onto the other’s hand.

The goddess turned and smiled, squeezing his hand. 

“I’ve wanted to show you this for a long time, actually, but there seemed to never be a good time to bring it up, or go…” Here he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“But maybe those are all excuses, and really, I wanted this place to be our first date for a while.” 

Yuuri lightly laughed, eyes crinkling, squeezing back softly. 

“Then I’m glad I finally got up the nerve to confess.” 

Viktor grinned, putting a hand to his hip.

“I thought you would never ask! I’d kept thinking to bring it up, but whenever I would, I’d kiss you instead! I was afraid we’d never get anywhere with each other.” 

He laughed, mouth curled into a grin now too. 

“I kept getting nervous whenever I thought about it! I was afraid of messing everything up!” 

The two of them laughed together for a while, when eventually, Viktor led him out to a bench overlooking a lake, flowers surrounding them.

“I’d forgotten to give this to you earlier when I first arrived.” The goddess showed him a thorn less rose, a bright solid red. 

Saying that, Viktor gently arranged it in his hair, running his fingers through it as he went.

A few seconds later, he beamed and clapped his hands together.

“There! Now don’t you look ravishing?” 

Yuuri blushed, both from the gesture and the compliment, smiling back. 

The other sat down on the bench next to him, entwining their hands once more. 

“You know, before I met you, I would never have imagined finding someone like you, someone so… brilliant. And you asked if I would want to be yours.” Viktor looked over at him, bright blue eyes wide in wonder. He sounded as if he still couldn’t quite believe it, a quiet awe in his voice. 

“You shine so brightly, Yuuri, even the stars are jealous. You’re amazing. I really hope you know that. If you don’t, I’ll just have to keep saying it, won’t I? Because you’re the first person I’ve ever loved like this.” 

Yuuri’s eyes widened, surprise etched on every feature of his face, as he looked at Viktor and found nothing but honesty written plain in his eyes.

And he saw love, too. Such a fond, affectionate look was being shot at him, he almost looked away it was so overwhelming.

“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted to tell you.” Viktor leaned back and squeezed his hand gently, a smile on his face.

“Can we just sit here for a while?” 

And Yuuri nodded, shock now being overwritten by the overpowering fondness and warmth he felt for the other. 

Hearing Viktor say that, had shocked him. But now, holding hands like this, on their first date, even if it would have felt too fast for other people, it didn’t for Yuuri.

He felt as if he’d known Viktor for a long time, even if they didn’t know everything about each other. But that would come with time, something they had plenty of. 

Knowing now that Viktor loved him… 

It made him feel wholeheartedly warm, all over.

He didn’t even realize he was crying until the other wiped them gently from his cheeks, smiling kindly at him. 

The goddess didn’t say anything, just wiped them all away before wrapping an arm around him.

Yuuri smiled and squeezed back, leaning into the other’s body while looking around at all the flowers.

He was falling in love with Viktor, as well.

It didn’t feel terrifying, like he had expected it would when he was younger.

It felt like coming home.


	35. Chapter 35

“Wow! Look at this one, Yuri!” Minami gasped, leaning in and putting his hands on the glass.

“Get off, you’re going to scare the fish, idiot!” He barked, grabbing the other’s arms and pushing him away. 

“Oh, sorry, fish! I didn’t know!” The fox rubbed his hair while apologizing towards the tanks. 

He’d dragged Minami here, with no explanation other than, “Let’s go. Follow me.” 

He couldn’t exactly say why he’d brought them to an aquarium specifically. Maybe because he thought the kitsune would enjoy it?

Minami was excited, he mused, watching as the fox leaned in way too close to ogle and exclaim over the different kinds of fish. He probably hadn’t ever seen something like this before.

Yuri blew out a breath, looking to the side.

“You get excited over the smallest things.” 

He felt a light touch to his fingers, before it pulled away, perhaps too shy.

“It’s because you’re here with me.” Minami’s voice was quieter than he was used to, and he looked over only to see the other with a small smile on his face as he stared at the fish.

Yuri couldn’t quite place the expression on the fox’s face. It looked almost bittersweet.

“Hey.” His voice came out equally quiet, more than he wanted it to.

Minami’s gaze slid over to him, and before he could talk himself out of it, he reached for the other’s hand and laced their fingers together. 

“I won’t let go.” He met the fox’s eyes straight on, resolute. 

He wasn’t good at comforting people. He never had the right words for the right time. 

But Minami made him want to try anyway. 

He didn’t like seeing him sad. That kind of look didn’t belong on Minami’s face.

But if he could help like this, with just reminding the other that he was here, then yeah, he’d hold hands with him the whole day.

He squeezed the fox’s fingers tightly. 

Minami was his friend, after all. 

“Thanks.” The kitsune whispered, voice grateful. 

And he softly smiled at him, eyes full of warmth.

Strangely enough, Yuri didn’t even feel embarrassed. All he felt was a satisfaction at seeing Minami smile. Because of him. 

“Anytime.” He said, matching the kitsune’s expression now. 

They leaned in close to each other the whole day they spent at the aquarium, and their hands were still entwined as they were leaving. 

“Tomorrow?” Minami asked, voice happy and content.

Yuri stopped, and so did the fox. 

He smirked and offered his free hand. 

“It’s a promise!” They both exclaimed, pinkies locked.

Their laughter drifted on the evening breeze, boisterous and exultant enough to even make the leaves flutter down from the trees.


	36. Chapter 36

“This color suits you more, since you have long nails.” Yuri said, grabbing the red nail polish and starting to paint Minami’s nails.

The fox beamed, excited as he tried his best to keep still.

“It’s so pretty! You have to let me do yours next, Yuri!” 

He snorted. 

“Only if you don’t pick a lame color.” 

Minami grinned as he watched Yuri dye his nails bright red. 

“I already know what I’m going to pick!” 

Yuri didn’t even ask, preferring not to know for now, dreading what monstrosity of a color the kitsune had in mind.

After all, the fox had over a hundred vials of nail polish, seemingly for no other reason than, “They look pretty!” 

That was way too much nail polish for anyone to have, least of all Minami. He shuddered as he imagined the other painting his nails all sorts of hideous mismatching colors. 

Minami’s hyper energy and dozens of bottles of colors he could put on himself weren’t a combination he wanted to see anytime soon.

He’d never painted someone’s nails before, least of all his own, so he was going very slowly, making sure not to make even a single mistake. 

The fox seemed restless, fidgeting. 

“Ah, I want to do your nails, Yuri! Hurry up!” A pout was on his face.

“I’m going as fast as I can.” He said, rolling his eyes. 

Minami gasped in outrage. 

“That’s a lie! You just slowed down! I saw it!” 

Yuri smirked, laughing. 

“Must be your eyes playing tricks on you, fox.” 

The kitsune wailed, his nails still not done being the only thing keeping him from pouncing on the cat.

“Yuri! I can’t believe you!” 

But a smile was on his face as he said it, and the atmosphere was warm, a place for just the two of them to inhabit.

He smiled as well, taking care to not let even a bit of polish touch the other’s skin.

It was comfortable being with Minami, no matter what they were doing. The two of them could be skydiving and he’d probably still be put at ease, he mused.

It was something he couldn’t really put into words, even to himself. 

There was just something about the kitsune that enabled him to relax and feel content. Seeing Minami smile always brought out a sincere happiness in him. 

Even if he made him blush, or made his heart race sometimes, it was still so easy to be around him, even then.

_‘You’ve really sucked me into your pace, huh?’_ He thought to himself, a calm smile on his face.

But he found that he didn’t mind at all. Minami was unlike anyone he’d ever met, in a category all his own. He was his friend.

Minami made him happy, simple as that. 

“There. I’m done.” He announced, the peaceful silence that had fallen over them broken now. 

The fox jumped up, grinning as he stretched. 

“Finally! Now it’s my turn!” 

The stars were back in Minami’s eyes as he rummaged through his collection for a few seconds before cheering and running to sit in front of him, enthusiastically taking his hands.

“This is Yuri’s color.” He stated, calming down slightly as he gently started to paint. 

He had been braced for some bright neon or glow in the dark color, but he was instead surprised to find himself looking at a beautiful light blue hue, elegant in its simplicity. 

“This color suits Yuri most of all.” Minami grinned at him. 

_‘You always surprise me.’_

He found himself smiling back. 

They didn’t say anything more, simply basking in the silence and the warmth of each other. 

“Done.” Minami stood up after a few minutes, looking pleased. 

He was about to get up himself when a hand was outstretched towards him, and he blinked, staring at the other.

Minami only sweetly smiled at him, bright red nails right in front of him. 

He grabbed the hand, and was pulled up. 

“Don’t we look good?” The kitsune asked as he gazed at their nails, eyes gleaming.

Standing in front of the other, watching him smile excitedly and gesture with his hands, getting caught up in himself, Yuri couldn’t help himself.

“Yeah. You’re pretty handsome.” He softly smirked as Minami’s eyes widened and a blush bloomed up his face.

“What? What did you just say? Yuri?” The fox looked very frazzled.

He poked the other on the nose.

“I said you’re handsome. Are your ears playing tricks on you now?” His voice was teasing.

Minami squealed, jumping up and down before throwing himself at Yuri in a hug, face bright red. 

“Yuri, Yuri, Yuri!” He repeated excitedly, not able to say anything else. 

He lightly laughed, hugging back.

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” 

His heart felt gooey, his body warm. 

Minami made him happy, simple as that.


	37. Chapter 37

“Yuuri!” Viktor came running over, sweeping the snow spirit into a snug embrace the moment he reached him. 

“Viktor!” The other giggled, returning the hug. 

He grinned, heart fit to bursting from how happy he was. 

No matter how many times he made the trip to the lake in the morning, that instant when he catches sight of Yuuri, a smile lighting up his darling’s face… His heart still beat like it was their first meeting.

“How are you this morning, my dear heart?” He asked, voice tender, warmth lighting up his blue eyes.

The snow spirit leaned up to sweetly kiss him, smiling into it. 

“Fantastic.” Yuuri breathed out, bright grey eyes gazing at him adoringly as their foreheads touched.

“And you?” 

Viktor lightly laughed, gently swirling his love around before stopping to touch noses. 

“Happy, now that I’m with you.” 

They both smiled at their silliness, hearts warm. 

It started lightly snowing, little flurries landing softly against their skin. 

He grabbed Yuuri’s hand and entwined their fingers together. 

The snow spirit smiled and let himself be led to the base of a tree, sitting down with him. 

They leaned against each other, hands still clasped, and watched the snow fall as morning slowly arrived.

“We really need to get you a proper bed.” He said, turning to rest his head on the other’s shoulder.

Yuuri hummed, fingers running through his hair.

“And have a bed out in the middle of the forest?” 

Viktor could hear the smile in his voice. 

He closed his eyes, smiling as well. 

“Or you could move in with me, and we could find a place to call home together.”

The fingers in his hair froze, and he could just imagine the cute blush painted across the other’s face. 

He squeezed the snow spirit’s fingers, feeling immeasurably fond. 

“You don’t have to answer right away.” He said, patient as he was in love. 

He was used to waiting. He didn’t mind however long it was until he got a reply. Viktor didn’t want to rush him, or pressure him. 

Yuuri was the best thing to have ever happened to him, and he was worth waiting for. 

But instead, Yuuri chose to once again surprise him. 

“No, I do want to. It’s just a bit overwhelming.” 

He opened his eyes and turned his head up, only to see the snow spirit tearing up, a soft smile on his face along with pink cheeks. 

“I’m really happy. I want to make a home with you, Viktor.” 

And he felt his own eyes tearing up as he wetly laughed, peppering kisses on the other’s face, making him giggle. 

“I love you.” He said, hugging Yuuri tightly and grinning.

The other chastely kissed him on the lips, before meeting his eyes and smiling giddily.

“I love you, too.” 

This time, he actually did start crying, and then Yuuri did too, and then they just stared at each other and began laughing. 

They both looked like a mess. 

But that didn’t matter when they both settled down in the snow, panting as they rolled over to face each other. 

They smiled at each other, hearts beating fast. 

“Hello.” He whispered, feeling warm. 

Yuuri crawled over and snuggled into his side. 

“Hi.” He whispered back, grey eyes affectionate. 

They laid in the snow, cuddled up close to each other. 

Eventually, the both of them fell asleep. 

Little flurries of snowflakes gently fluttered down to land on them as the sun came up.


	38. Chapter 38

They’d eventually decided to just scope out a small abandoned house in the woods not far from Yuuri’s lake. 

Viktor had argued that they could build a house themselves, but he had argued that neither of them had the faintest clue of how to even start, not to mention how long it would take. 

The goddess had conceded that point, exclaiming, “I want us to move in as soon as possible!” with a smile on his face. 

It had also been hard to dissuade the other that no, they could not live in a castle. Viktor had pouted, looking disappointed. 

But here they were, all friendly arguments aside. 

It was a bit funny that they had ended up in these woods, near the lake.

_‘Where it all began.’_ Yuuri thought, a smile touched by nostalgia on his face. 

“It’s a good size,” Viktor said, smiling as he grabbed the snow spirit’s hand and started for the inside.

“But it could use some work.” He retorted, gazing at the exterior.

It was clear it had been abandoned by everyone but the multitude of vines crawling everywhere over its surface, and the chances of some wild animal having a nest inside were probable. 

It was shabby looking, and could definitely use a new coat of paint. 

“You aren’t afraid of a little hard work, are you?” His partner teased, bright blue eyes amused.

He grinned.

“Not at all. In fact, it’d probably be fun, don’t you think?” 

Yuuri could just imagine all the fun they would have doing their best to make this house look presentable. Cleaning and painting together, putting their own touch on everything, laughing as they did it… It sounded like a good time.

It would be a comfortable sort of chaos, making this place home. He could already see it. 

Viktor laughed and squeezed his hand, leading them inside. 

“It doesn’t look as bad as I thought it would, honestly.” He’d thought the interior would be in shambles, things strewn everywhere, but truthfully it was rather bare, no furniture to be seen.

They toured the rest of the house, peeking into the remaining rooms. There were two bedrooms and a spare room, which was good. Yurio could stay there when he wanted. 

They also wandered back through the living room and into the kitchen. Yuuri was already excited just thinking about all the things he could experiment with in here, even if they didn’t actually need to eat.

Food was still food, and it was still delicious. 

“So? What do you think?” Viktor asked him, an excited gleam in his eyes as he faced him.

Grinning, he leaned up to kiss the other. 

“Yes. This is the place. What about you?” 

The goddess came closer and stole another quick kiss, then one more for good measure. 

“Yes.” Was all he said, grinning himself. 

Yuuri beamed, feeling warm and happy all over. 

This was the house they’d make a home, together.

Looking around, there was a lot of work to be done. But he couldn’t bring himself to feel anything but excitement at the thought. 

“Do you think Yurio-kun would want to help?” He asked, eyes shining at all the things they still had to do. 

Viktor smiled, tilting his head. 

“He probably won’t admit it, but I know he’ll want to.” 

Yuuri giggled, covering his mouth. 

“I suppose we’ll start tomorrow then? So we can ask him when he arrives?” 

Although he hadn’t been at the lake in the mornings lately, out with his friend. Though he always made sure to at least arrive by the afternoon. Yuuri never worried, seeing a smile on the other’s face whenever he came. As long as Yurio was happy, that was all that mattered. 

His partner hummed to himself. 

“It is getting to be rather dark. Tomorrow it is! It’s sure to be a busy day, hmm?” 

He followed Viktor out of the house, nodding.

“But I’m excited!” He grinned.

The other turned around to face him, cupping his face in his hands. 

“I am, too.” And he nuzzled their noses together before planting a light kiss on the snow spirit’s forehead. 

Not to be outdone, Yuuri leaned up and brushed his lips against Viktor’s chin adoringly.

“Tonight, can we sleep together at the lake?” Bright blue eyes were shining enthusiastically, and he knew that this would be a night for stargazing.

He softly smiled, lacing their fingers together once more and swinging them as they started walking.

“Of course.” 

They’d cuddled up to each other and fallen asleep at the lake a few times before, but this somehow felt more exciting. 

This was their last night to be spent at the lake before they had a house of their own, a bed of their own to sleep in.

It felt a little like one of the sleepovers Yuuri had gone to when he was younger. 

He could feel his heart beating faster now.

_‘We probably won’t get much sleep tonight.’_ He thought to himself, eyes glinting from amusement. 

He already knew they’d stay up together, watching the stars, whispering to each other about what all they would do the next day, arguing about the paint and what furniture to put where, before eventually passing out against each other, excitement no longer keeping them awake.

_‘It sounds like fun.’_ Yuuri laughed, squeezing Viktor’s fingers as he swung their hands between them. 

His lover turned and grinned at hearing him laugh, looking amused and fond and in love all at once.

He grinned back and then started running, breaking the hold on their hands as he instigated a race.

Bright, exuberant laughter rang through the air, clear as bells.


	39. Chapter 39

Yuri crossed his arms, a smirk appearing on his face. 

“Yeah, I’ll help. Just give me a minute.” And with that, he dashed off, leaving Viktor and Yuuri to stare in bewilderment. 

The snow spirit tilted his head. 

“I wonder what he’s doing.” 

Viktor smiled, cocking his hip. 

“Who knows?” 

Meanwhile, Yuri had gone straight to the cave, a smug smile on his face. 

It seemed as if it was finally time to introduce his new friend. 

He already knew that his kitsune combined with those two was going to be chaos of the best kind. 

He looked forward to it.

“Hey, Minami!” He yelled, hoping the other wasn’t out somewhere. If he was, it’d take some time to track him down.

Luck was on his side as the fox ran out and jumped on him, smiling excitedly. 

“Yuri! You’re early!”

He pat the other on the head, running his hand through hair.

“Yeah, there’s a reason for that. My family needs some help moving into a new place. I thought we could help and introduce you at the same time.” The cat’s eyes shined animatedly. 

The kitsune lit up, mouth open in surprise as stars appeared in his eyes. 

“Really!? I get to meet Yuri’s family? What are they like? Will they like me? What are their names? Where are they moving?” 

He clapped a hand over the other’s mouth before he could continue babbling out a never ending stream of questions. 

Laughing lightly, he shot the fox an amused smirk.

“Calm down. You’ll find everything out when you meet them.” 

The kitsune buried his face in Yuri’s neck, groaning. 

“I can’t help it! What if I ruin everything and they never want to see me again? Or what if I offend them? Ah, I’m too nervous!”

He tilted the other’s chin up, making the both of them face to face.

A smile appeared on his face at seeing anxious but eager eyes looking back at him. 

“Don’t worry. They’re going to love you, Minami.” Saying that, he briefly touched his lips to the other’s head. 

Brown eyes shot wide in shock as he made a noise somewhere between a squeal and a squeak. 

Yuri watched as he closed his eyes, visibly calming himself down before opening them and staring at him determinedly. 

“Alright, I’ll do my best! Watch me, Yuri!” 

He smirked proudly, grabbing the other’s hand.

“Yeah, I got it. And I’ll be there too, you know?” 

Minami grinned, lacing their fingers together before leaning up to brush a chaste kiss to his cheek. 

“For good luck.” 

Yuri raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged, laughing. 

“Okay, maybe not. I just wanted to kiss you.” 

He quietly huffed out a laugh, beginning to tug at their hands now.

“Sounds about right.” 

And with that, they set off, playfully bickering and teasing each other all the way there. 

They came into view of the lake a little while later, the sugary sweet couple still waiting patiently as they stood talking and leaning on each other.

He squeezed Minami’s hand before smirking and calling out, “We’re all ready to go now!” 

The couple smiled and made their way over, stopping in front of them. 

“Oh? Is this your Minami that you’ve hinted about so much?” Viktor asked, hand on his hip, looking amused.

He felt his face begin to burn pink, and he scowled. 

Trust Viktor to embarrass him. He should have known.

He felt the fox’s eyes on him, and he made the wise decision of not looking over at him and instead looking at the goddess. 

“Yeah, this is my friend. Minami, this idiot here is Viktor, and the one next to him looking exasperated is Yuuri. This is a common sight, so get used to it.” 

He felt the kitsune’s fingers tighten in his before they fell away as Minami swept into a bow, exclaiming, “Nice to meet you, Yuri’s family! I’m Minami, I hope we get along!” 

Then he pulled up and grinned at them. 

Viktor grinned and put a hand on the fox’s head. 

“You’re adorable! I can already tell we’re going to be friends!” 

Yuuri came over as well, an excited smile on his face as he grabbed the kitsune’s hand. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Minami-kun! Thank you for taking care of Yurio. He’s been very happy ever since he met you.” 

It was a bit weird to hear his name without an honorific for once. It’d take some getting used to, but at the same time, it made him feel warm. 

Seeing the three of them interact together, Minami beaming and looking as excited as ever, Viktor grinning and talking, posing dramatically and making the fox starry eyed, and Yuuri giggling, hand over his mouth and cutting into the conversation here and there and making Minami turn to him with an awed expression, eyes shining…

It made Yuri smile softly to himself. 

He’d been wanting to introduce them for what felt like the longest time, and this was why. 

It made him so happy to see them getting along and laughing, especially Minami, who he knew got lonely sometimes, even if he tried his best to make him smile.

Well, now he had two more friends he could go to. 

And Yuri knew that when it came to Viktor and Yuuri, they’d never let Minami feel lonely as long as they could help it. 

_‘Looks like they’ve adopted another one.’_ He thought to himself, smiling and starting to laugh. 

The three of them heard him, and Minami turned and rushed over to grab his hand, ushering him over, grinning all the while.

“Yuri! Guess what Viktor said? He said you can’t stop smiling whenever you talk about me! Is that true?” 

Yuri’s face froze in place and he slowly turned to look at the goddess, eyes promising death. 

Viktor only smiled, hand over his mouth as if he was enjoying a nice conversation about the weather.

“Oh yes! I’ve never seen Yurio get as flustered as he is when it comes to you!” 

_‘I’m going to kill you, Viktor.’_ He thought, red rising up his cheeks as he practically yelled, “Don’t we have a house to clean?” 

Yuuri cut in and grinned, eyes playful. 

“Yes, he just lights up whenever he thinks of you.” 

_‘Even Yuuri?!’_

He grabbed Minami’s hand in his, rushing off to the house, shouting back, “Meet you there!” 

When they arrived, he clutched his heart and panted, cheeks still not cooling down.

“Those idiots! Why do I even put up with them?” 

The rant he was about to go on was stopped before it even began when he felt a light squeeze to his hand. 

He turned only to see his fox smiling sweetly at him, big brown eyes cheerful. 

“I’m really glad I met you, Yuri.” 

And he was still embarrassed and blushing, but he smiled back. 

“Me too.” 

He hoped he never stopped feeling warm when they were together, holding hands like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Over a thousand words, let's go! xD


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to give a shout out to Rougethecat, who's begun a story inspired by chapter twenty of this fic! It's called 'The Dragon and the Prince' and you should check it out if you're interested!
> 
> Once again, I want to say thanks for writing, Rougethecat! I can't wait to read more! <3

“Thank you again for helping us out with this. I know it’s not the most exciting job.” Yuuri lightly laughed and flashed a smile at him while helping him clean. 

Viktor and Yuri were on the other side of the room, supposed to be cleaning as well but actually goofing off, laughing and playfully teasing each other. 

Their laughter spilled over to this side of the room, making him feel warm. 

Minami smiled back at the snow spirit, busying his hands with sweeping up all the dust on the floor. 

“It’s no problem! It’s actually kind of fun, you know?” 

Grey eyes wandered over to the other side of the room, and then giggles spilled out of him. 

“Yes, I think I know what you mean.” 

They went back to cleaning, spending a few minutes in a comfortable silence. 

This hadn’t been what he’d been expecting when Yuri told him he’d be meeting his family, not at all. But he found himself happy to have been wrong. 

He really liked Yuuri and Viktor. They were so nice and welcoming towards him! He felt so unbelievably happy to have made friends out of them. 

Two new friends all in one day. It felt a little like a dream. 

He grinned, staring down at the floor. 

The two of them were so in love, and it was cute to watch. The way the snow spirit’s eyes would follow the other, the way Viktor’s face just lit up from looking at him, how they leaned into each other…

Minami hoped he could have something like that one day. Something soft and sweet, not even necessarily romantic. 

It would be nice to have something like that, he thought. 

But that was a thought for the future, and he pushed it out of his mind. Right now, he was happy being with his three friends, and that was that. 

“You look like you’ve been thinking very hard.” A quiet voice brought him out of his head, and he looked over to see Yuuri smiling kindly at him, his hand outstretched. 

He looked down and found the floor clean, and all the dust already swept. 

He laughed and handed over the broom, sheepishly rubbing his neck. 

“Yeah, I get like that sometimes.” 

Yuuri put away the broom and dustpan, leaning them against the wall, sighing out from the contentedness of a job well done. 

“I think everyone does. Now, how about we go over and see how those two are doing?” A playful grin was shot at him and he mirrored it, mischievousness sparking in both of their eyes. 

“Sounds like a plan!” 

And so they ran over and jumped on Viktor and Yuri, sending all of them crashing to the floor in one big pile, the both of them laughing at the looks on the other two’s faces. 

“Damn it, I knew introducing the two of you was a mistake.” Yuri groaned out, suddenly looking very regretful. 

Minami shot the snow spirit a conspiring smirk, brown eyes dropping down to his hands and then shooting over to the cat, silently asking. 

Yuuri smirked back, nodding once. 

Then, they pounced. 

The combination of four hands tickling him was too much for Yuri to take and tears ran down his face as he burst out laughing, trying to wiggle away to no avail. 

“Help, help! Viktor!” 

Yuuri yelped as he felt himself being picked up, and Minami looked over to see Viktor spinning him around and laughing, eventually setting him down only to capture him in a hug.

Minami found himself suddenly stranded, with no comrade. 

He backed up, eyes wide as Yuri picked himself up off the floor and started towards him. 

They both broke out into a run, screaming and yelling through their giggles. 

Yuri eventually caught him and tickled him mercilessly, smirking at the laughter that fell out of him as he wheezed. 

“Yuri, please.” He begged, and the other finally had mercy on him and stopped, instead sitting on his stomach now.

“You’re a real handful, Minami.” The cat said, looking amused while staring at him. 

He smiled.

“Yeah, I guess I am.” His voice was soft, and his hand reached up to poke the other on the nose. 

Yuri quietly laughed, eyes fond as they looked at him. 

He felt the light brush of fingers on his cheek, only for them to soon fall away. 

How like Yuri, to show him affection but not bring any attention to it, to try to hide it. 

But it didn’t matter, because all Minami had to do was look at him and he saw everything in his eyes. Yuri’s eyes never lied, no matter if the rest of him did. 

_‘You tell the truth every time you look at me.’_ He felt warm, seeing the fondness, affection, happiness, amusement, everything jumbled up in the other’s eyes. 

“Up you little lovebirds! It’s time we get back to cleaning!” Viktor’s voice rang out, teasing. It was easy to hear the smile in it. 

Yuri blushed bright red, immediately jumping up and scowling, going over to yell at the other. 

But Minami just laid on the floor and grinned, laughing. 

It was cute how Yuri was so embarrassed. He loved the fact that the other didn’t even shout out any denials, either, he was just yelling at Viktor for, “Disturbing the atmosphere with your annoying voice!”

Still chuckling, he sat up and put a palm to his cheek, watching as they bantered back and forth. 

Who was he to stop a free show?


	41. Chapter 41

The four of them only managed to clean the inside of the house that first day, not the exterior, probably on account of how much they were goofing off. 

So they all agreed to meet up the next day at the same time to try and finish up the cleaning once and for all. 

Viktor and Yuuri went back to the lake, settling down at the base of a tree and cuddling close as snowflakes fell slowly to the ground.

“I can’t believe we didn’t even finish cleaning! I was so sure we could do it in one day, too.” The snow spirit groaned, resting his head on the other’s shoulder. 

The goddess wrapped an arm around him, smiling. 

“It just goes to show that time flies when you’re having fun, I suppose.” 

Yuuri quietly laughed, closing his eyes contentedly. 

“Today was very fun, I’ll give you that. We finally got to meet Minami-kun!” 

Viktor grinned, eyes sparkling excitedly. 

“He’s so precious! How did Yurio even manage to meet such a sweetheart?” 

He giggled, turning his nose to meet the other’s neck. 

When those two were together, they reminded him a little of what Viktor and he were like when they had first met, what felt like so long ago. 

Being captivated by someone, feeling lost in your own little world with them…

But Yuuri had a feeling that they wouldn’t move nearly as fast as he and Viktor had, or as smoothly. It seemed as if Yurio still hadn’t even realized he had a crush on Minami, while Minami...

He didn’t seem to want to act on his feelings, or at least not right away. Maybe he was waiting for Yurio? Either way, it didn’t look like he would be the one making the first move. 

Maybe it would take a long time. Maybe the two of them wouldn’t fall in love anyway. 

In the end, it was their choice. 

Right now, the two of them were friends, and they’d still be friends no matter what happened. 

Yuuri had seen the way they made each other smile and laugh. That was a bond that was only going to strengthen with time, unlikely to break.

It had been nice to see Yurio just light up and have fun today. He wondered if he’d ever be able to properly thank Minami for it. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Viktor’s voice brought him back to the present, and he opened his eyes and smiled.

“Just thinking about Yurio and Minami-kun. I’m so grateful they met and became friends.” 

The goddess leaned his head against bark and hummed, face relaxed.

A warm silence fell over them, and Yuuri had almost fallen asleep when Viktor spoke up once more, voice thoughtful. 

“I wonder what the future will bring. To all of us.” 

He turned and saw the other smiling, bright blue eyes eager. 

Yuuri breathed out a content sigh and grabbed his partner’s hand, lacing their fingers together. 

“Good things and bad things, I imagine.” 

He squeezed their hands. 

“But as long as we’re together, I know we’ll be happy.” 

Viktor squeezed back and leaned in to brush a chaste kiss against the snow spirit’s forehead, then going down to kiss his lips sweetly. 

“Yes, we will.”

They both snuggled close, watching the snow fall and sharing soft kisses under the cover of the night. 

Hopefully, tomorrow they’d move into their house, Yuuri mused, softly smiling. 

But for now, he was content with looking at the stars. 

“I love you.” An almost whisper that was sugar sweet and soft.

“I love you, too.” An immediate answer, with a voice both affectionate and fond.

The chill night air breezed through, ruffling their hair as they both smiled.


	42. Chapter 42

It had taken a few hours, but the four of them had finally managed to clean the entirety of the house, both inside and out. All that was left to do was painting and furnishing. But the couple would do that themselves. 

Yuuri rested his hands on his knees, panting. 

“Thank you both for helping us with this. It would have taken so much longer without your help!” He raised his head and smiled gratefully. 

Yurio scoffed, waving his hand as he sat on the ground and rested.

“It was no problem. No need to thank us.” 

Minami grinned excitedly, leaning against the cat as he bounced in place, somehow not even tired.

“Yeah! I had fun, Yuuri! If you ever need some more help, just ask us, alright?” 

The door suddenly opened and Viktor swept in, light as the wind. 

“I come bearing lemonade!” He shouted, enthusiastic as he ran over, arms full of cans. 

The three of them all cheered, each taking a can happily. 

The goddess held his out in the air, smiling.

“To the future!” 

The snow spirit giggled but joined in on the toast, grinning. 

“To our health, happiness and well-being!” 

Minami went next, his can knocking against the others roughly, his statement more quiet but no less content. 

“To love, in all its forms!” 

Last but not least, Yurio huffed and rolled his eyes but eventually caved with the three of them all staring at him expectantly. 

He smirked and touched his lemonade to the others. 

“To us.” 

Then, they all opened their can of lemonade and drank it down, the cool liquid refreshing after so much cleaning. 

They all sat or leaned against a wall, just relaxing and basking in the accomplishment of a job well done, the atmosphere friendly and comfortable.

Minami eventually fell asleep against Yurio, whole body leaning on him, his head resting on the cat’s shoulder. 

Yurio put a hand to his mouth and smiled, huffing out a laugh. 

“I know we don’t have any furniture yet, but we can go out and get some blankets quickly. You two could spend the night if you wanted to.” Yuuri came over to whisper, eyes and voice warm as his mouth turned up at the sight of the two of them. 

Yurio turned and wryly smirked, resting his hand on the fox’s head. 

“Might as well. This idiot isn’t going to wake up any time soon.” 

The snow spirit lightly laughed before turning away and going back over to Viktor, probably explaining what they were going to do. 

A few minutes later, the couple started for the door, both turning to give them a smile and a wave before they stepped out. 

“Won’t be long! See you soon!” Yuuri called out, holding hands with his partner. 

“Try not to get too lonely while we’re gone!” Viktor teased, playfully smirking. 

Yurio glared, opening his mouth to yell but then stopping himself. 

“Just get out of here already.” He said quietly, rolling his eyes and turning his head away from them.

He heard the door close a few moments later, leaving him alone with Minami in the sudden silence.

Looking down, he found the kitsune smiling in his sleep and trying to burrow into him. 

Letting out a sigh, he arranged the other so that his head would rest in his lap, his fingers automatically running through the other’s hair. 

“Don’t have too much fun without me, Minami.” He teased, even if the other couldn’t hear it, his eyes amused as a small smile wound its way up to his mouth. 

Whatever the fox was dreaming about, he looked happy, still smiling. 

He gently poked the other on the nose, smirking. 

“Sweet dreams, I guess.” 

He looked forward to what Minami would say when he woke up to learn that they were spending the night. 

Knowing him, he’d probably squeal and jump up and down, yelling, “Sleepover?” 

Then, when it was confirmed, he’d beam excitedly and pounce on him in a hug, rattling off ideas of what all they could do together.

He’d probably be disappointed to know that they couldn’t make any cookies or hot chocolate. 

Yuri would try and remember to go out with him later tonight and pick up the stuff for it. 

It sounded a little like a party, all four of them together eating cookies and drinking hot cocoa, talking and laughing all the while, curled up in blankets.

He smiled, running his fingers through the kitsune’s hair. 

“Hurry and wake up, or I’ll eat all the cookies.” 

He really wouldn’t.

He’d leave at least two for Minami and Yuuri. 

Viktor, though, Viktor would learn the true meaning of despair as he watched him eat all of his cookies, laughing as he did it. 

He giggled quietly to himself, clutching his stomach. 

He’d get three packs of cookies. Just in case.


	43. Chapter 43

Yuuri and Viktor had come back bearing what looked like a whole barrelful of blankets, teetering and almost dropping a few when they weren’t careful. 

Making it over to them, which took a few minutes of careful navigating, they both dropped them at once in front of Yurio and Minami, twin sighs of relief sounding out. 

“Why’d you even get so many? We only needed a few!” Yurio looked both confused and in awe of so many soft blankets.

The snow spirit rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, eyes looking to the side.

“In case we ever run out..?” 

Viktor lightly laughed, bright blue eyes amused.

“Yuuri couldn’t stop feeling them and then picking them up to take. I actually had to convince him that we already had enough!” 

Yurio just stared at the snow spirit. You could almost see the question marks popping up all around him.

“Stop looking at me like that!” Yuuri yelled out, crossing his arms and blushing from embarrassment. 

The goddess put a hand to his mouth and grinned.

“Well, I daresay we won’t ever run out of blankets in this house.” 

Yuuri just covered his face and groaned, bright red blush still visible. 

“I just like blankets, okay? They’re just so soft and warm and nice.” 

Viktor crossed over to envelop him in a hug, smiling. 

“You’re too cute sometimes, Yuuri!” 

The snow spirit began to giggle now, returning the embrace happily. 

Yurio scoffed at the sight of them, sticking his tongue out. 

“Huh? Yuri?” Minami sleepily asked, brown eyes opening only to stare right up at him. 

The cat smiled, smoothing over the other’s hair.

“Guess what, Minami? We’re having a sleepover.” 

The fox shot up immediately, all traces of drowsiness gone in an instant as starts appeared in his eyes.

“Really? Really?” 

He crowded up close to Yurio’s face, looking into his eyes.

The cat rolled his eyes, but smirked fondly.

“Yes, Minami.” 

The kitsune pecked him on the nose quick as a blink before shooting up to yell excitedly, arms going up as he cheered.

Yurio reached a hand up to touch his nose lightly. 

“Time for a sleepover!” Minami shouted, beaming as he bounced in place. 

And that was what heralded the beginning of the night, although truthfully it felt more like a party instead of a sleepover.

They all found out very quickly that the fox was a master at tag, and the game was soon banned on account of how no one else could ever win, not even once. 

One game they didn’t expect the kitsune to be good at, however, was charades.

“A construction worker!” Minami’s hand went up as he shouted, as if he were in school. 

Yurio’s brows scrunched up and he frowned in confusion. 

“What the hell? How did you even know? I hadn’t even started moving yet!” 

The fox smirked and cocked a hip confidently, eyes gleaming.

“It was all in your posture.” 

Viktor clapped, looking both impressed and amused. 

Yuuri and Yurio both looked at each other, sharing in their mutual confusion. 

“Still, how the hell…” The cat muttered, expression thoughtful. 

Minami put his hands behind his back and looked at them innocently.

“We could always play monopoly instead, hehe!” His fangs were shown as he smiled. 

“No!” Yurio loudly shouted, looking almost haunted from the memories. 

The fox broke down laughing, clutching at his stomach. 

Viktor and Yuuri only watched on, bemused smiles on their faces.

As the night wore on, it became less about playing games and more trying to catch Minami cheating at them, which Yurio swore he was doing.

“He has to be! No one is this good at go fish!” He said emphatically, slamming his hands down on the floor. 

Minami smirked as he won for the third time in a row.

“Maybe I’m just lucky.” 

The cat jumped up, cards flying everywhere.

“Lucky my ass! You’re cheating, and I’m going to prove it!” Saying that, he dramatically pointed right at the other’s chest, looking determined.

The kitsune met his stare straight on, grinning toothily.

“You can go ahead and try.” 

Sparks flew between them as they gazed at each other heatedly, neither backing down.

Viktor and Yuuri just laughed quietly to themselves as they watched this whole thing play out, expressions both amused and fond. 

They both opted out of playing any more games, instead just spectating. 

Minami and Yurio played game after game together, and still the cat couldn’t prove that the fox was cheating, no matter how hard he looked. 

It was all but confirmed that he was by now, since he had won every single game thus far and apparently didn’t care how obvious it was. 

Yurio wasn’t even angry at losing, he just really wanted to know how. How was the other cheating? It would drive him crazy until he found out.

It being close to midnight, they had both agreed that this would be the last game. Yuuri and Viktor had both gone to bed already, wishing Yurio luck. 

“Don’t stay up too late, kids!” Viktor had said playfully, winking at them before Yuuri had pulled him away. 

He would have yelled at that idiot if he wasn’t concentrating on watching Minami’s every movement very closely.

He thought he might have come close to exposing the other a few times, but Minami was just too experienced at this, while he wasn’t used to trying to pick out cheaters. 

And of course, the fox’s face never gave anything away, cheerful smile always in place while his eyes gleamed in amusement. 

_‘I have to do something!’_ He thought, biting his lip hard. 

He’d tried everything he could think of to catch Minami in the act, and nothing had worked. 

This was the last game. Maybe it was time to try something else? 

He knew he wouldn’t be able to lie to save his life. Minami was too good at reading him. 

But, what if he told the truth instead? 

He couldn’t believe he was actually going to try this. Deciding to just go for it, he breathed out once and tried to relax, unclenching his fists.

“Minami.” He said, staring straight into the other’s eyes. 

The fox looked a bit caught off guard, likely from his demeanor. 

Yuri tilted his head to the side and smirked.

Slowly, he leaned in very close to the other, their lips close enough to brush against each other when he stopped.

“I’m really bad at card games. And board games. And basically every game in existence. I suck.” He whispered it right into his ear before pulling back. 

Minami’s face was bright red, and he looked flustered before he registered what had been said.

Then, he started laughing, eyes wide from the surprise of it. 

Yuri started laughing too, cocking his hip and staring triumphantly at the other. 

“I caught you!” 

Minami just laughed even harder, tears leaking from his eyes. 

“So you’ve been using illusions on my eyes so that I wouldn’t see you cheating!” 

Yuri was actually impressed. To have done that, the kitsune would have had to keep it up for the countless game that they played, not to mention doing it for Yuuri and Viktor as well. 

Playing a game as competently as Minami was and doing illusions at the same time…

_‘You’re kind of crazy, Minami.’_ He smiled, going over and pulling the other up from his position on the ground where he had been laying, still laughing. 

Yuri flicked him on the nose, watching him pout while trying not to smile.

“Come on. Now that the big mystery has been solved, it’s time for cookies!” 

The kitsune gasped and started tugging him out the door.

“What are we waiting for, then? Let’s go, Yuri!” 

He grinned.

“Yeah. I’m coming!” 

They raced outside, the cool air blowing against their skin as a bird cried.

They ended up getting four packs of cookies, and eating two before falling asleep, curled on and around each other, tangled in numerous blankets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is curled up nice and snug in their own warm nest of blankets. Please stay safe, everyone! :)


	44. Chapter 44

Minami was the first to wake up in the early morning, taking a few minutes to carefully untangle himself from both Yuri and all the blankets. 

When he was finally free, he stretched, a content sigh falling from his lips. 

Looking at Yuri, he smiled happily and leant down to poke his cheek gently. 

“Wake up soon, Yuri. I can’t have fun all by myself.” 

And with that, he took a pack of cookies that they hadn’t demolished last night and set off for the front yard, taking a seat a little ways away from the door.

The morning breeze felt nice as it brushed through his hair and against his skin.

He ate cookies and watched as the sun came up, relaxed. 

_‘I hope we can have a sleepover again sometime.’_ He rested his cheek in a palm, expression calm as his eyes warmed.

He hadn’t stayed out there long before he heard footsteps, then the door opening. 

“Good morning!” Viktor greeted cheerily as he sat down next to him, sneakily grabbing some cookies.

“I don’t think Yuuri or Yurio are going to be waking up any time soon. They’re such heavy sleepers!” The goddess smiled.

Minami lightly laughed and bit into a cookie he’d just stolen from the other.

Viktor went to take one of his cookies to eat, then furrowed his brows in confusion before turning a few seconds later to look at him with amused eyes. 

“That reminds me. How did last night go? Did Yurio manage to get proof of your cheating?” 

The fox grinned toothily.

“Yeah. He surprised me and totally broke my concentration.” 

The goddess laughed, hand over his mouth as his bright blue eyes twinkled.

“Yes, that sounds like Yurio alright.” 

They sat in a peaceful silence for a few minutes, comfortable smiles on their faces as they ate a breakfast of cookies.

It was nice to have company just taking in the morning with him, Minami mused. 

It felt good, and warm. 

A little like when he was with Yuri, but more calm and thoughtful. 

Looking over at Viktor, he got the feeling that there was a lot more to him than first met the eye. 

So he smiled and broke the silence, asking, “What’s your favorite flower?” 

The other tilted his head, looking a bit confused before answering, “Spider lilies.” 

He hummed thoughtfully, leaning back on his hands. 

“What a sad flower.” 

Viktor looked curious.

“How is it sad?” 

Minami looked at him while frowning.

“They’re flowers that represent loss and longing. They’re said to grow in hell, guiding the dead on to reincarnation.” 

The goddess’s eyes widened, taken aback. 

He sat up and clasped his hands together.

“When I was much younger, I heard that they bloom when you meet someone you’ll never see again. That’s why I said it was sad.”

Viktor frowned, eyes thoughtful. 

“I always just liked how colorful and beautiful they were. I never knew how gloomy they actually are.” 

Minami lips turned up in a smile.

“I asked you because I wanted to get to know you better, but, well. I really didn’t expect something like that to be your answer!” 

The goddess smiled back, previous pensive expression now gone.

“You should have just said that to begin with. I’d like to know you as well, Minami!” 

They ended up spending hours talking and laughing, accidentally waking up Yurio and Yuuri with how loud they were being.

“Once those two are all woken up, what do you say we all go into town and shop? Yuuri and I could use some help picking out furniture! Not to mention, I think we could all use some new clothes, wouldn’t you agree?” Viktor winked at him, grinning.

Minami nodded, giggling as his eyes lit up.

“Okay then! Let’s go wake them up!” The goddess said playfully, grabbing his hand and leading him into the house.

Viktor’s hand was warm as it held his, and Minami smiled so wide his cheeks hurt.

“Yuuri! Yurio! Wake up you slowpokes, it’s time to go to town!” The two aforementioned slowpokes glared at them, looking one second away from falling back asleep. 

Looking at each other, Viktor and Minami smirked before running and jumping on the other two, all four of them falling to the floor in a messy and tangled pile.

As the two sleepy spirits threatened to kill them, they laughed and giggled, high fiving each other.

A pretty good start to the morning, if Minami did say so himself.


	45. Chapter 45

“Oooh! Look at this one!” Minami exclaimed, holding up a cute Christmas sweater that was red with snowflakes and reindeer on it.

“Wouldn’t that be way too big on you?” Yurio questioned, looking up and down the other’s body as he held some shirts for himself.

The fox laughed, waving his hand in a gesture meaning no.

“That just means it’ll be more comfortable!” 

Walking by, laden down with all sorts of clothing articles, Viktor stopped in his tracks to examine the sweater the kitsune was still holding up. 

“You’d look so cute in that, Minami! Hurry and go change so we can see what it looks like!” The goddess smiled before hurrying back over to the other side of the store where Yuuri was currently changing.

Yurio put a hand to his hip and huffed.

“At least grab a few other things before you go racing off to the changing rooms.” 

The fox nodded excitedly, almost buzzing as he flitted to and fro, eyes never stopping in one place for long.

The cat rolled his eyes but left the other to it, putting down all the shirts he was carrying except for one with a tiger on it, doing some perusing of his own.

He’d never really put all that much thought into what he wore, all these years. What was the point? Shouldn’t you just wear something you like, something that’s comfortable? 

But seeing Viktor and Yuuri having so much fun finding and matching things up, trying on fancy outfits, he thinks he gets it now. 

He’d seen the goddess come out of the changing room a little while ago dressed in a white as snow suit. Yuuri had blushed to the tips of his hair while Viktor smiled.

Seeing that, in his head he had gone, _‘Oh.’_

Wearing clothes wasn’t just about comfort, at least not all the time.

It was also about having pride in your appearance and being able to smile confidently because of it.

Yuuri and Viktor had so much fun wearing those types of clothes because they weren’t just for themselves. They were for each other, too. 

The thrill of having someone look at you and blush, or smile and not be able to look away…

It was a bit easier to understand now. 

Yuri huffed out a breath. 

Still, he wouldn’t be wearing anything but T-shirts and jeans for now and the foreseeable future. 

Watching as Minami marveled over all the leggings, his eyes shining, he cracked a smile.

He didn’t think his fox would be considered anything but casual either, even if his usual outfit was that stuffy, intricate kimono he had on.

But that’s what they’d come clothes shopping for. It was almost the New Year, and what better time to make a change?

“Yuri! Yuri! Come and change with me!” Minami yelled out, enthusiastically running over to grab his hand. 

He arched a brow. 

“What do you need me for? The changing rooms are just over there.” 

The kitsune beamed, squeezing his fingers tightly.

“I might need help putting stuff on. Now, come on!” Barely finishing his sentence, he raced off to the other side of the store, too excitable to escape from.

Before Yuri could even utter a protest, he found himself watching Minami close the door to the small changing room they were suddenly in. 

“Alright! Let me try on this first!” The kitsune smile cheerfully, and began stripping down right in front of him with no shame whatsoever.

Red crawling up both his face and ears, he turned around and closed his eyes, yelling out, “Minami, you idiot! Give me some warning at least before you start getting naked in front of me!” 

He heard the other laugh, and his cheeks just burned hotter. 

“What’s the big deal? I don’t care if you see me.” And gods give him strength, but the fox honestly sounded genuinely curious. 

Putting his hands over his face, he made a noise akin to a dying squirrel. 

“I care! I care very much! Now please tell me when you’re done!” 

_‘Even Viktor and Yuuri didn’t go in with each other!’_ He thought, embarrassed. 

He heard some rustling before the other spoke up, voice amused.

“You’re so weird, Yuri! I’m all done.” 

He didn’t even dignify that statement with a response, just spinning around to look at the finished outfit, trying his best to hide his blush.

He was met with the sight of Minami in that cute red sweater along with a pair of shorts, unfortunately also in red.

The kitsune grinned and held up a pair of leggings, sweater swallowing his hands.

“You’re not allowed to try these on, so I’m just going to get a bunch.” 

Yuri shrugged. 

“It’s not like anyone can see us. Try them on if you want.” 

The fox cheered and started undressing once again, causing him to squeak and almost run headfirst into a wall. 

At this point, he just wanted to curl up in a tree and pretend nothing else existed. 

Minami snorted, and Yuri could just hear the smirk in his voice.

“Yuri’s adorable when he’s tripping over my good looks.” 

He spun around to yell at the other, only to catch sight of the fox’s bare legs, making him freeze, eyes wide.

His face was practically the color of that Christmas sweater as he just stood there, rooted to the spot as the kitsune pulled on the leggings patterned with little snowflakes and snowmen.

As soon as he was done, Minami slowly stalked over, smirk still in place as his eyes gleamed.

Yuri felt the other caress his cheek lightly, brown eyes glinting playfully as they came closer.

“You’re so sweet, I could just eat you up.” Long nails painted bright red leisurely ran down his cheek before stopping at his neck. 

Minami then smiled sweetly, poking him on the nose and laughing. 

“You’re so easy to tease, I’m sorry! Now, isn’t it your turn to change?” 

Yuri scowled, punching the other in the shoulder, face burning.

“You’re such an idiot, Minami! Fine, but you better not look!” 

Making sure the fox was turned around, Yuri then executed the fasting clothes change of his life, not willing to tempt fate any more than he already had. 

_‘That kitsune is going to be the death of me one day.’_ He tried to calm down, taking a few seconds to put a hand over his heart before giving Minami the okay to turn back around.

“Wow! You look so cool, Yuri!” The fox shouted, stars in his eyes as he stared. 

He turned unimpressed eyes to look at him. 

“Great. Now let’s go. We still have to go furniture shopping.” 

Minami frowned and gathered up his clothes alongside him, silence reigning for a minute or two before he spoke up. 

“You’re not mad at me, are you?” 

He looked over at the other to see him staring down at the floor sadly and fidgeting. 

He sighed, smiling fondly and going over to hug him. 

“I’m not, I promise. I’m just tired, and getting a headache.” 

The kitsune hugged him back tightly before grabbing his hand, gently leading him.

“We can leave the furniture shopping up to Yuuri and Viktor. We’re going back to the house. You need rest.” Minami frowned, eyes worried. 

He felt shocked, before a wave of pure affection welled up in him. 

Squeezing the other’s hand, he moved closer, their sides now brushing. 

“Thank you.”

Looking confused, Minami squeezed back, asking, “For what?”

Yuri didn’t say anything for a long while. He just stared down at the ground as they walked, until eventually he spoke up.

“For worrying.” 

The fox simply smiled at him, eyes soft.

“No problem.”


	46. Chapter 46

“I hope Yurio is alright…” Yuuri bit his lip and started wringing his hands worriedly.

Viktor took one of his hands in his, squeezing it reassuringly and smiling.

“I’m sure he will be, with Minami looking after him. Let’s leave it in his capable hands and bring back some furniture for them, hmm?” 

The snow spirit smiled back and nodded, looking much more at ease now. 

He swung their hands between them as they walked, humming a gentle tune.

_‘But just to be safe, we’ll pick up some soup, hot drinks and medicine before we head home.’_ It shouldn’t take the two of them long to pick out furniture. Well, hopefully.

Looking over to his lover then down to their joined hands, he lightly laughed. 

_‘We’re both stubborn enough to argue about it, though, aren’t we?’_

Grey eyes found their way over to his, both inquisitive and affectionate. 

He only grinned back and blew the other a kiss playfully. 

Yuuri mimed catching it and putting it to his heart, little giggles escaping him.

He felt warm just from the sight. 

“You’re silly, Viktor.” His lover’s voice was teasing.

“But so am I.” Saying that, Yuuri winked at him and then leant up to peck him on the lips sweetly.

He smiled into the kiss, their hands breaking apart only so they could weave their arms around each other. 

He would never get used to how every time they kissed, it still felt like a surprise. 

Leaning their heads together, they gazed at each other softly. 

Viktor brushed his lips against Yuuri’s forehead before pulling back, bright blue eyes shining. 

The snow spirit looked at him fondly and grabbed his hand again, this time leading them.

He turned his head to stare at all the shops and cute boutiques they were passing.

_‘One day, we’ll go in each and every one of those, and I’ll spoil you rotten.’_ He thought to himself cheerfully. 

But that was for then. 

Right now, they were on their way to the furniture store. 

They arrived only a short while later, and he could only stare in awe at all of the different beds and sofas and tables placed all around. 

“Wow! How are we ever going to pick something out?” He exclaimed, eyes wide. 

Yuuri smiled at him from behind a hand, amused. 

“Some come in sets, like that table and chairs over there. Let’s just start with beds, alright?” 

He gave an excited thumbs up, grinning back.

“Got it!” 

And so they made their way over to the beds and took a look, minutes passing as they both saw nothing they liked. 

Viktor was about to get discouraged when he saw the perfect one.

“This one!” He pointed out, eager for the snow spirit to see.

It was a wooden frame, nice and dark. 

“No.” Yuuri took one look at it. 

He put his hands on his hips, pouting.

“Why not?” 

His lover turned unimpressed eyes on him.

“I don’t like the headboard. It looks weird.” 

Letting out a skeptical hum, he swept his gaze over the bed the other had been eyeing for a few minutes.

“Is that the one you like?” 

Yuuri tilted his head and nodded.

He put a hand to his chin, considering. 

“I suppose it’s alright, but I don’t really like the color. Now, mine on the other hand is gorgeous…” He trailed off, looking back at it longingly.

“I’d never be able to sleep in a bed like that.” The snow spirit bluntly admitted, cocking his hip.

Viktor turned disbelieving eyes on him, shocked.

“What? Why not?” 

Yuuri crossed his arms and frowned.

“I don’t know. I just don’t like it.” 

They bickered over the two beds for a while, most definitely longer than they wanted. At one point in their argument they had even started debating the pros and cons of wood frames vs metal frames, and if the color actually mattered.

Of course, all of this was rendered pointless when in the middle of their conversation they found a bed that they both liked better than the two they were talking about. 

Seeing it was getting late, they both hurriedly picked out the rest of the furniture, a nice dark wood table with chairs and two sofas for the living room.

They were about to leave the store when Yuuri reminded him about getting a bed for the spare room, so they quickly went back and did that, letting out identical sighs of relief when they were done. 

_‘Thank the stars for my wind.’_ Viktor thought gratefully. Even if Yuuri helped him, there was no way they could have hauled all this furniture back to the house by themselves. 

It was nice to be a goddess sometimes.

As they walked side by side to the grocery store to pick up some things for Yurio, he put his hands behind his head and breathed a content sigh.

“I’m just glad the furniture shopping is over with.” 

Yuuri laughed, bumping against him gently.

“Yeah. It was more stressful than I thought it would be. Probably because we’re both so obstinate.” 

He smiled. 

“Still, today was fun. I can’t wait to see you in your new clothes!” 

The snow spirit’s grey eyes sparkled. 

“You’ll get a chance to tomorrow.” 

He let his hand fall down to grab the other’s, lacing them together.

“I can’t wait.” He said softly, chest warm.

Be it by luck or by fate, he would never stop feeling grateful for what led him here, to this moment, to Yuuri.


	47. Chapter 47

Minami smiled at the both of them as Yurio finally appeared to be looking better as he slept.

After Viktor and Yuuri had come home, Yuri had taken both the medicine and the soup, looking very tired. He’d gone to sleep almost immediately afterwards, tossing and turning with a frown on his face.

Minami was glad to see him settle down now and smile, even if he was asleep.

His fingers gently grazed the other’s forehead and brushed through his hair before falling away.

Only for it to be picked up and held in a firm grip. 

He looked over and saw Yuuri giving him a smile.

He grinned back as he felt Viktor take his other hand.

Swinging them between the three of them, he quietly laughed, so as not to wake Yuri. 

“Wanna go outside for a bit?” He whispered, a glint of playfulness appearing in his eyes. 

The couple both looked amused, and nodded. 

He shot one last fond smile at Yuri, then jumped up and excitedly ran for the door and outside, dragging the others behind him.

Cool night air met him, and he shivered before breaking the hold on their hands and turning to face them, his brown eyes enthusiastic. 

“Dance with me!” 

Yuuri giggled and smiled, taking him up on his offer as he placed his hands on the fox’s waist.

He was surprised a second later when instead of a waltz, Minami instead chose to freestyle, a mishmash of all kinds of different dances. 

Viktor’s bell-like laughter rang out and the snow spirit turned to see him put a hand over his mouth, bright blue eyes sparkling. 

The kitsune grabbed both of his arms and twirled him around, grinning.

“Just dance, Yuuri!” 

Smiling back, he did. 

Letting go and being a little crazy was fun once in a while, he decided, chest warm as Minami’s giggles filled the air.

Viktor soon came to cut in, a grin on his face as he took the fox’s hand and started leading him in a tango before turning it into a ballet move. 

Not to be outdone, Minami cheerily turned their dance into ballroom, jazz, folk and even some swing dancing, which he seemed to have the most fun with. 

The fox ended the dance by jumping on the goddess’s back, panting even as he started laughing. 

Viktor smiled and his hands came up to support the other as he walked back over to the front of the house where Yuuri was sitting, grey eyes fond as he took the two of them in.

As he sat down, Minami scampered off his back to instead sit between them, practically on their laps. 

“That was fun!” He exclaimed, still out of breath but no less happy for it.

Viktor ruffled his hair, eyes fond. 

“I’m sure we could all do it again tomorrow, when Yurio wakes up.” 

The fox bounced in place excitedly as he beamed, taking both of their hands in his.

“I’d like that.” Minami said happily, squeezing their hands.

They smiled at him and squeezed back, all three of them content to sit and let the chill night air cool them down before heading back in for bed.

The stars shone brilliantly in the sky, beautiful and mysterious.


	48. Chapter 48

“Wow, Yuuri’s really going all out, huh?” Minami said, brown eyes curious as he watched the snow spirit put up even more decorations.

Yurio hummed.

“It’s his first Christmas with Viktor. I guess he wants the party tomorrow to be one to remember.” 

The kitsune smiled before turning to the cat and taking his hand in his.

“Just being with the three of you, I’m sure it will be.” 

The corners of Yurio’s mouth turned up in a small smile.

“Yeah. We’ve all come a long way, haven’t we?” 

From that day months ago when he reunited with Viktor and met Yuuri, to gradually becoming a family with them, then encountering Minami and slowly falling into his pace…

He laughed, squeezing his fox’s hand.

“It feels like it’s been a long time.”

Minami grinned at him, eyes shining.

“Don’t we have forever to look forward to?”

Yurio looked around the room, from Viktor to Yuuri to this house that they were helping make a home, and finally back to Minami. 

He breathed out a content sigh, eyes happy.

“Yeah. I don’t know how I’ll put up with all of you for that long.” 

The fox put a hand to his hip, smirking at him playfully.

“I’m sure you’ll find a way.” And he giggled before he jumped on the cat in a hug, winding his arms around his torso tightly.

Yurio didn’t even bother trying to escape. He just hugged back, hiding a smile.

“In case I forget to say it tomorrow, let me just say it now.” Minami stated, voice soft as he smiled. 

“Thank you for being my friend, Yuri. Merry Christmas.” 

He felt the fox bury his head in his neck and he ran his fingers through the other’s hair fondly.

“Thank you for being mine, and for never giving up on me. Merry Christmas, Minami.” 

They didn’t let go of each other. 

The both of them stayed like that until Yurio flopped down on the floor, bringing the fox down with him as they curled up on and against each other, giggling. 

Viktor and Yuuri looked at each other with a smile as they finished putting up decorations, eyes fond.


	49. Chapter 49

“Now, let the party… begin!” Viktor announced, clapping his hands while grinning as Yuuri turned on the small electric music player they’d procured. 

The four of them cheered as upbeat pop music began playing before going over and grabbing some of the sugar cookies they’d made a few hours previously, all decorated with red, white and green icing.

“They’re good!” Minami exclaimed excitedly, picking up even more. 

Yuuri laughed, shooting the fox a fond look.

“Just don’t get sick from eating too many.” 

The kitsune flashed them all a thumbs up before stuffing his face enthusiastically. 

Yurio huffed and made him put back the vast majority of cookies in his hands, unimpressed. 

“Slow down, Minami.” 

The other did as he was told, smiling toothily and putting a cookie to the cat’s lips. 

“Okay!” 

Yurio rolled his eyes but ate it, flicking the other on the nose. 

Over on the other side of the room, Viktor had swept Yuuri into a playful dance, the both of them laughing giddily. 

“Merry Christmas!” The snow spirit exclaimed as he kissed the other right on the lips, grey eyes sparkling. 

Viktor dipped him, grinning back. 

“Merry Christmas, my dear heart.” 

They stared at each other for a moment before having to lean on each other for support, lost in a swarm of happy giggles. 

Their hands found each other, intertwining. 

“I love you.” Yuuri stated, squeezing the goddess’s fingers gently.

Viktor lifted their connected hands and brushed a chaste kiss against the snow spirit’s, smiling softly.

“I love you, too.” 

And without anything else needing to be said, they went over to sit at the table for a while, chairs pushed next to each other with no space left in between, cuddling sweetly.

“Hey, Yuri…” Minami trailed off, a smile on his face as he stared off to the side, fidgeting. 

The cat nudged him in the shoulder. 

“What?” 

The fox turned to face him, smiling cheerfully. 

“I really like you.” 

And then he put his hands on Yurio’s shoulders before leaning in to crash their lips together gently, his eyes closed from nervousness.

Whatever Yuri had expected, it certainly hadn’t been that. 

He didn’t even know if he wanted a romantic relationship, or if what he had been feeling lately was something like a crush, and he was honestly pretty confused, but…

He still found himself kissing back briefly before taking the other’s hand in his and breaking the connection between their lips. 

The kitsune opened his eyes to look at him, expression worried.

And he didn’t know why, but he burst out laughing, suddenly remembering their first meeting. 

He leaned his head on his fox’s shoulder, unable to stop giggling. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just- you kissed me like that when we met!” 

Minami just stood there for a few seconds, thrown for a loop. 

But then he started to laugh as well, wrapping the other in a hug as they leaned on each other.

They laughed like that for a few minutes, unable to explain why it was so funny. 

Yuri brushed a stray tear from his eye before righting himself, smiling fondly at the other and lacing their fingers together once more.

“Let’s just take things slow, okay? I don’t even know what I’m feeling right now.” 

Minami beamed at him, squeezing his hand.

“Okay! This is all kind of confusing for me, too.” 

Yuri leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, feeling the other’s skin heat up slightly.

“I don’t really know how I feel about romance. But I know I like kissing you.” 

It was a miracle he didn’t blush himself, but Minami was doing that enough for the both of them, face bright red.

“Me too!” The kitsune managed to squeak out, and Yuri smiled. 

“I really like you too, Minami.” 

His fox didn’t stop hugging and clinging to him for the entire night, practically glowing.

It wasn’t as if he minded, though. 

He hugged back just as tightly.

And at the end of the party, all four of them danced together, atmosphere warm as they smiled and laughed happily.

All in all, a pretty great Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is where I take a break from writing for a while, haha. :P Thank you so much to everyone for reading!
> 
> Happy holidays! Please stay safe, and I hope you have a nice day! :D


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